Catlin: Pragmatic Pompey will strengthen

The Blues have entered 2018 sitting sixth in League One to stoke supporter aspirations of successive promotions.

However, their promising progress threatens to be checked by a lengthening injury list.

Kenny Jackett’s bench in the New Year’s Day defeat at Bristol Rovers contained two Academy players, while Theo Widdrington had been recalled from a Hawks loan spell.

With the transfer window having reopened, Catlin acknowledges increasing injury concerns have left the squad requiring a boost.

And he has promised the club will act to assist Jackett – albeit sensibly.

Pompey’s chief executive said: ‘We are on a strict player budget – this was stated both pre and post takeover – and we have always been honest about that.

‘We currently find ourselves in a great position and are, of course, in a play-off spot, which has been a remarkable achievement.

‘And while not making any excuses, factually we also have a mounting number of injured players.

‘To use an analogy, if you’ve got a budget for a journey from say London to Scotland and suffered a tyre blow out on the way and don’t have a spare, you have to go and buy another tyre.

‘The point I am trying to make is that events do happen that are not budgeted for and solutions have to be found.

‘We understand that and it’s something which will be kept under review. Things do happen which you cannot budget for and that has to be addressed in any business.

‘Michael (Eisner) has been successful in his life by making pragmatic decisions based on the information laid before him.

‘You cannot be dogmatic in business and I’m sure if the right player came up and the situation deems it then it’s obviously something to be looked at.

‘However, that doesn’t always mean it’s a financial decision, we can be creative within the current squad.

‘A budget is a budget but to be successful in any business you must have an air of pragmatism. It has to be sensibly thought through with a rationale behind it.’

The necessity to recruit has increased following a season-ending injury to Danny Rose.

Brandon Haunstrup faces up to eight weeks out with a knee problem, while Gareth Evans is sidelined for a month by a hamstring issue.

Catlin said: ‘We have a budget for the season, which we are desperately trying to stick to.

‘However, sometimes there are exceptional circumstances and you have to adopt a flexible attitude to deal with an extreme case, that is logical.

‘All things being equal, we would not look to break our budget this year. Myself, Tony (Brown) and Kenny need to discuss whether the current crop of injuries dictate an exceptional circumstance and if there needs to be a review by the board.’