Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley reveals how he convinced Michael Jacobs to turn down Doncaster Rovers offer in January - and why he's delighted he did

After falling further down the Pompey pecking order, the former Wigan man was handed the chance to move to the Eco-Power Stadium last month.

New Donny boss Gary McSheffrey held talks with Jacobs over a potential switch and even revealed an offer was on the table to end his two-and-a-half Fratton Park stay.

A move looked on the cards as Cowley looked to trim his squad of fringe players whose contracts run out at the season’s end.

Jacobs fitted the bill in that respect.

But the Blues head coach admitted he made it clear to the 30-year-old that he was in his plans for the second half of the season – reassuring words which prompted the fans’ favourite to remain loyal to the club.

And what a telling moment that conversation is already proving to be.

Indeed, Jacobs has emerged as the club’s talisman in recent weeks, after calls for his inclusion became too loud to ignore.

He has scored three goals and registered two assists in his past three outings, as he’s asserted himself on Cowley’s starting XI.

Meanwhile, Tuesday night’s win against Burton – where he set up Sean Raggett for the game’s opener, before scoring what proved to be the match-winner – was only his third league start of the season.

As Pompey prepare to welcome Donny to Fratton Park tomorrow, the forward could easily have been lining up against the Blues.

Instead, he’s their main hope of securing back-to-back victories for the first time since the end of November – new-found status that Cowley is delighted to see.

When asked about that potential move to Rovers in his pre-match press conference ahead of the match, Cowley told The News: ‘Like I said to Michael at the time, we didn’t want him to go.

‘I think he knew that and that was probably the reason why he stayed.

‘I think his form in recent weeks has been magnificent.

‘He’s been a huge source of our goal creation and the goals we’ve scored.

‘Credit to him because he had to be patient at the start of the season.

‘He obviously had an injury at the back end of last season which meant he was probably a month behind the rest of the group.’

The forward has had to contend with a number of off-field issues this season, which stunted his progress.

First of all, he was dramatically denied a move to Ipswich in the summer, shortly after recovering from an injury.

Then he was sidelined with two illnesses that prevented him from being part of the first-team picture.

But Cowley has explained how the club are now benefitting from a fully-fit Jacobs now.

He added: ‘It’s taken some time for him to get to that sharpness and the physical place he needs to be in to play at his best.

‘We’re certainly all reaping the rewards at the moment which is great to see.’

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