Portsmouth will be aiming for a top six finish this season.

The South Coast club are firmly in the mix to secure promotion to the Championship and will be hoping that they have the quality required to go all the way in the push to go up.

If they can pull it off it'll be a huge achievement that will see them end their exile from the top two divisions; an even bigger achievement given the financial repercussions that the last 12 months has brought.

A large part of the club's success has been the quality of their recruitment in recent years.

Signings have generally been good - something that hasn't always been the case over recent years at Fratton Park.

With that in mind here are nine Portsmouth signings that flopped after arriving at the club.

The striker really announced himself as one of the Championship's top strikers when he swapped Bury for Preston North End in 2005.

In two years at Deepdale he established himself as a real fans' favourite before completing a move to Fratton Park where it was hoped that he would be able to really kick on at the highest level.

Unfortunately that didn't quite happen.

Nugent made 93 appearances for Pompey during a four-year stay, and while 20 goals in that time wasn't exactly disastrous, it was far from what was expected.

Upon the end of his contract at the South Coast club Nugent went on to join Leicester City where he looked much more like his usual self.

A player of huge promise - of that there is no doubt.

Rory Allen came through the youth ranks with Tottenham Hotspur and looked like a top-level talent in the making when he arrived at Fratton Park in 1999.

Unfortunately for the club his time with Portsmouth probably wasn't met with the sort of determination needed to be a success.

Allen suffered with knee problems but also struggled with commitment and discipline issues which led to him handing in a letter of resignation to Harry Redknapp eight months before the end of his contract at Fratton Park.

Considering the extent of his talent it was a real shame that this signing just didn't work out.

A player who arrived at the club with the reputation of being one of the best in the Premier League.

The Israeli skipper made a huge impact after spending three years with Bolton Wanderers when the opportunity arose to join Chelsea in 2007.

Ben-Haim spent just one year in West London before heading to Manchester City - the club who he left in order to move to Portsmouth in 2009.

The defender spent three years on the South Coast, although his time was far from a success with a year of that being spent on loan with West Ham United.

He then left in August 2012 before making a move to QPR the following January.

The striker was regarded as one of the top marksmen in the Football League during the 1990s.

Spells with Port Vale and Bradford City were enough to earn a move to Pompey in 2000 where he was expected to really hit the ground running during his time at the club.

Unfortunately that just didn't happen.

His only full season with the club saw him return just five goals before a number of injuries stopped him from kicking on.

Mills moved on to Coventry City where he also struggled to find his feet.

The forward started his career with Charlton Athletic before spending time on loan with the likes of Yeovil Town and others.

After a successful year with Doncaster Rovers Gilchrist secured a move to Southampton where he spent the next five years - a spell including a pivotal role in helping the club to the FA Cup final in 1976.

When Portsmouth signed the player the following year it was seen as a major coup but unfortunately he just couldn't hit the ground running.

Gilchrist spent just one season with Pompey as they suffered relegation to Division Four.

It was then that Swindon Town made an offer to buy him which was duly accepted which brought his spell on the South Coast to and end.

The defender enjoyed a successful career during the 1980s and 1990s.

Spells with Barnsley, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United and Everton came during his prime years, however it was his time at Forest was under the leadership of Brian Clough where he was a real success, but unfortunately injuries stopped him from really kicking on before moving to Charlton Athletic in 1998.

Three years in South London followed before he completed a move to Portsmouth in 2001 under Graham Rix.

Tiler spent just two years at Fratton Park but his spell was hampered by injury leading to his premature retirement at the age of 33.

The goalkeeper was regarded as a truly established name in European football during the noughties.

Chalkias was regarded as a regular in the Greece national team and also enjoyed three separate spells with Panathinaikos between 1995 and 2005.

It was then that he completed a move to Portsmouth where the opportunity to establish himself in the Premier League was too good to turn down, but unfortunately for the experienced stopper it just didn't work out.

Unfortunately some erratic movements led to a series of mistakes at Fratton Park, leading to him falling down the pecking order at the club.

Shortly after he left the club by mutual consent before completing a move to Spain after just five appearances for Pompey.

The striker was expected to make a huge impact after moving to Portsmouth.

After coming through the ranks with Southampton Baird spent fruitful spells on loan with Cardiff City and Newcastle United before completing a permanent move to Leeds United in 1985.

After two years at Elland Road the striker moved to Portsmouth at the end of his contract and was firmly expected to hit the ground running.

Sadly for him it didn't quite work out as financial issues at the club meant that it was impossible for him to settle, leading him to stay at the club for just one year before moving back to Leeds United.

The defender certainly enjoyed a successful career in the game, but unfortunately, his time with Portsmouth didn't contribute to that.

After starting his career with Torquay United Williamson moved to Southampton where he enjoyed a number of loan spells as he built up his experience in the game.

A loan spell with Wycombe Wanderers turned into a permanent move with the centre-back spending five years with the Chairboys.

After that he moved to Watford and then Portsmouth for a fee of £2million but strangely never made a single first-team appearance during his time at Fratton Park.

Just one year later he moved to Newcastle United where he would spend the next six years.