Birmingham loanee Viv Solomon-Otabor starting to show Portsmouth potential

Kenny Jackett was impressed with the winger’s performance against Accrington on Saturday, after he made a substitute’s appearance against Peterborough the previous outing.

The Birmingham loanee was rewarded with his first start since recovering from a calf injury.

He replaced Ronan Curtis in a left-wing role and featured for the full 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw with Stanley.

Jackett admitted Solomon-Otabor is still not the finished product.

But the Pompey boss feels the 23-year-old has plenty of potential.

‘There was quite a lively performance from Solomon-Otabor on the left,’ said Jackett.

‘He showed the ability he has and the potential that he has as well.

‘He showed good potential. For a young player coming in, he hasn’t played much.

‘Unfortunately, he got a calf injury when he did have his run in the team when Ronan had the accident with his finger.

‘Viv has recovered now and hopefully he can have a strong finish for us.

‘There is a lot of talent and he showed that on Saturday. I’m certain he’s not the finished article.

‘He’s a boy from Birmingham and hasn’t played much for them, so it’s early days in terms of his career.

‘But he’s shown glimpses of his potential which I’m sure will help us.’

Solomon-Otabor arrived as an 11th-hour deadline day signing from Birmingham in January. 

He was down the pecking order at St Andrew’s during the first half of the season, making 10 appearances and scoring once.

After four successive Pompey starts, a calf injury he picked up in the 2-0 win over Scunthorpe on March 16 confined him to a spell on the treatment table.

With fewer miles on the clock than a lot of players, Jackett feels Solomon-Otabor’s freshness could prove pivotal in the play-offs.

The manager added: ‘I hope it works that way and that’s the case.

‘His performance, Anton Walkes and Bryn Morris – we have got some good young players here.

‘We have to keep working hard it.’