Portsmouth forward Oli Hawkins has said that he wouldn't "feel much a part" of it if the team were to get promoted due to his lack of game time for the club this term.

The 27-year-old made a return to action on Tuesday night in Pompey's 3-2 win over Exeter City in the Leasing.com trophy at Fratton Park, coming on as a 54th minute substitute.

It was his first game since January 7th, where he played for 72 minutes against Walsall in the same competition.

Speaking to BBC Solent's Andrew Moon ahead of this Saturday's game league game away at Fleetwood Town, Pompey's No. 9 discussed how he has felt being left out of the team, where he made the admission.

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"No player wants to not be involved.... if the team was to go up I wouldn't feel much a part of it because I haven't played that many games," Hawkins said.

"A lot of people won't realise how difficult it's been," he added.

In total, Hawkins has made just nine appearances for Pompey this season, mostly being deployed as a centre-half when he has played.

Despite doing a good job for his side when he filled in at the back, Hawkins admitted that switching his focus to playing in a new role was hard.

"Towards the start of the season it was about becoming a centre half... now coming back to being a striker I feel a bit more comfortable just focusing on that," he said.

The Verdict

With Kenny Jackett often playing a 4-2-3-1 formation with a sole striker, Hawkins has found himself behind Ellis Harrison and John Marquis in the pecking order, limiting his opportunities.

However, in Tuesday night's game against Exeter, his physicality proved to be difficult for the opposition to deal with.

He will be hoping that Jackett will now utilise him more between now and the end of the season.