Kabamba salutes Lowe's Pompey progress

And the striker revealed how his former non-league team-mate has been offering him advice throughout the campaign to help improve his game.

Kabamba and Lowe both arrived at the Blues in January 2017 from National League South outfit Hampton & Richmond Borough.

However, the latter has made a significantly bigger impact at Fratton Park.

Lowe scored the goals at Notts County to seal Pompey’s promotion from League Two last season, while he’s netted eight times in 49 matches under Kenny Jackett this term.

However, Kabamba has managed just six Blues appearances and spent the campaign on loan at Colchester and Aldershot.

Despite their contrasting Pompey careers, the 25-year-old is delighted how Lowe has made rapid headway at the Blues.

Kabamba said: ‘He’s a good friend of mine so I’m always going to big him up!

‘But he has definitely added goals and his work rate is just a joke now.

‘The way he got his move from Hampton & Richmond to Portsmouth was because he was a winger who scores goals.

‘That’s the part that got him the move and he’s worked on everything else around that now. Jamal has worked on the defensive aspects of his game, working hard going forward and back and positional play as well.

‘He’s gone about it the right way and he has taken his chance.

‘Jamal doesn’t live too far from me so I’m always there catching up with him and we’re still very good mates.’

Kabamba admits this season has been the toughest of his career, although he netted in Aldershot’s National League play-off eliminator penalty defeat to Ebbsfleet last night.

The marksman revealed Lowe has constantly told him to work on his weaknesses and keep his head up.

‘He tells me to keep working hard because at the end of that day if you do that it’s always going to come,’ added Kabamba.

‘He knows I’m a good finisher and just tells me to keep working on my weaknesses and not let anything knock me down.

‘This is the first year in my football career when things haven’t really gone my way.

‘He tells me not to let it knock my confidence or for it to get me down.

‘It happened to him when he was at Barnet and then all of a sudden he was back in non-league.

‘Now he’s in League One, playing higher than he was before. Jamal tells me not to let it get to me that much, concentrate and he knows I have good head on my shoulders.’