Jackett out to help Chaplin realise Pompey potential

Chaplin served intent of his Pompey ambitions this season with a quickfire 15-minute hat-trick in Saturday’s 6-0 win over Hawks.

The 20-year-old impressed Blues fans and his manager with a hungry display which showcased a clinical eye for goal.

It was Jackett’s first sight of Chaplin in action since he took the helm.

The Pompey boss is a big fan of the academy graduate and knows all about his qualities.

And Jackett is looking forward to getting to work with the hitman and extracting the best of his talents.

Jackett said: ‘He’s had a good week but that’s all it has been with me so far.

‘He’s 20 years old and he’s hungry to improve.

‘It’s up to us as staff and me as a manager to keep working with him to make him an effective centre-forward for Portsmouth.

‘The potential is there – and you can see that.

‘We will work hard to make him effective this season.

‘The be-all and end-all is scoring goals as a forward.

‘The statement is you affect the game by scoring – and it’s true.

‘Creating goals is second and then third is being good enough to get the team up and around the box more.

‘I’m not putting Conor in this bracket but you do get forwards who don’t help the team to get in and around the box enough.

‘So you don’t score enough by being effective in the first two-thirds of the pitch.

‘There’s a balance between the two.

‘There is nothing worse than having a player who can help you get in and around the box but can’t finish, though.

‘So it’s a combination of the two.

‘Maybe we can look at other areas. Maybe we could look at a withdrawn role.

‘But he can get goals – and that’s a precious commodity.’

Chaplin’s first pre-season start arrived after he missed the trip to Salisbury with a calf injury.

It looks set to be a big campaign for the Worthing talent who scored eight goals in 42 appearances last term – with 29 of those outings coming off the bench. Jackett knows all about Chaplin’s standing with the Fratton faithful and was glad to see his confidence flowing with his goal haul.

He said: ‘He’s worked very hard through the summer, to the point where he missed the first few days of pre-season with a calf injury.

‘It was his first runout with a full week’s training.

‘He got his goals. It’s not just about him building up fitness but putting chances away.

‘It’s good for strikers to get goals in pre-season. For him to get off the mark impressively is good.

‘He is popular with the crowd – and so he should be.

‘It wasn’t just his goals but he also worked very hard.’