Catlin: Portsmouth may lose loanees in January

The Blues presently have four loanees, of which Joe Mason is already earmarked for a return to Wolves.

Ben Thompson, David Wheeler and Andre Green remain on season-long agreements, although can be recalled by their parent club halfway through their Fratton Park spell.

In-form Thompson is the most likely departure, with Millwall seeking to bolster their Championship survival hopes.

Yet it remains to be seen whether Wheeler's ongoing limited first-team action would warrant a recall by QPR, initiated by either the player or the club.

As for Green, he has been a regular from the bench since recovering from injury, at one stage netting in four-consecutive games.

However, the Aston Villa player has started just the single League One fixture following an August arrival impeded by a period sidelined by a knee operation.

And Pompey's chief executive admitted there could be departures out of his hands.

Catlin said: '˜There are different situations and different conditions written into each of the four loanees' contracts.

'˜But they are the parent clubs' players and I am sure Kenny will be discussing that with the relevant managers and decide what is best for the individual players involved.

'˜That is one of the downfalls of having loan players in. They are not yours and you don't really control the situation.

'˜Generally in January you have to be mindful of clubs recalling players that are maybe currently on loan with us and/or a series of suspensions which may affect our ability to compete at the same level we had in the first half of the season.'

Mason has been the least used of Jackett's loanees, featuring in four matches, of which one was league action.

He has been named in just two of the last 12 squads, a period also impacted by injury to the attacker.

The impending arrivals of Andy Cannon and Ryan Yates will boost Jackett's options, with more fresh faces anticipated.

Although Catlin believes not all the Blues' January recruits will be instant starters.

He added: '˜That doesn't necessarily mean all people coming in will play, but coming in to boost the squad.

'˜There is still a long way to go, a lot of twists and turns along the way, and, as we saw with Nathan (Thompson), out of the blue you can get an injury.

'˜These things happen and you have to be fully prepared.'