Jackett pledges Portsmouth will do ‘everything they can’ to bolster forward options

Kenny Jackett has pledged Pompey will doing everything they can to bring in forward recruits before the January transfer window closes.
Check-aTrade Trophy Round 3 -  Southend United v Portsmouth - 08/01/19
Portsmouths Manager Kenny JackettCheck-aTrade Trophy Round 3 -  Southend United v Portsmouth - 08/01/19
Portsmouths Manager Kenny Jackett
Check-aTrade Trophy Round 3 - Southend United v Portsmouth - 08/01/19 Portsmouths Manager Kenny Jackett

The Blues received yet another blow today when winger David Wheeler was recalled from his loan spell by QPR.

He follows in the footsteps of Andre Green, who returned to Aston Villa last week.

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Meanwhile, midfielder Ben Thompson has moved back to Millwall and striker Joe Mason’s temporary deal from Wolves expired at the start of the month. 

Check-aTrade Trophy Round 3 -  Southend United v Portsmouth - 08/01/19
Portsmouths Manager Kenny JackettCheck-aTrade Trophy Round 3 -  Southend United v Portsmouth - 08/01/19
Portsmouths Manager Kenny Jackett
Check-aTrade Trophy Round 3 - Southend United v Portsmouth - 08/01/19 Portsmouths Manager Kenny Jackett

As a result, Jackett has been left with a scarce of attacking options.

But the Pompey boss has insisted he’ll work hard to remedy the problem ahead of the window shutting on January 31. 

‘We were looking for news on that (Wheeler being recalled) in early January to give us time to react,’ Jackett said. 

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‘The break clause and loan system is what it is and it’s left us short of forward options. 

‘We’re nowhere near as strong as we were and the competition that we’ve had.

‘But, similarly, we have a week to react and we want to react positively. 

‘We are short along the front line and the recalls of Green and Wheeler has left us not as strong as we were in our forward positions.

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‘So we’ll be doing everything we can and everyone inside the club will be doing everything they can to address that in the next week.’

Jackett stressed that he won’t sign players for the sake of it, however.

He will only bring in fresh faces if they bolster Pompey’s squad in terms of quality and not quantity.

The boss added: ‘You can always sign players but signing good players is the hard thing.

‘We want people that can contribute.

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‘We don’t just need numbers or bodies – we need players that are going to make a difference, hungry and have the ability.

‘Everybody at the club – from myself to the board and recruitment team – will be working hard to help our forward line.’