Dane Scarlett's on a goal rampage - but Portsmouth boss hails the man responsible for Spurs starlet's sensational form

Top-scorer Colby Bishop has gone three games without a goal, while was rested from the Carabao Cup against Newport County and the Papa John’s Trophy trip to Crawley.

That has coincided with Scarlett discovering his finishing prowess, netting four times in eight days to emerge as the toast of the Fratton faithful.

Yet Bishop’s selfless running and work-rate has not gone unnoticed by Pompey’s head coach.

And while the loanee from Spurs is receiving the plaudits, Cowley has also been quick to credit the ex-Accrington man’s contribution.

He told The News: ‘Colby was the foil for everything against Peterborough, he really unsettled their defensive line and gave us such a wonderful platform into the game.

‘Dane will know that he needs Colby to occupy like he does, so he himself can get between the cracks.

‘Colby has this lovely softness to his touch and brings it in, almost cuddles it. When he sets it, there’s always a message on his pass so the player coming onto it knows whether he needs to take it first time, or have two touches.

‘The pair of them are a good partnership. We knew all about Colby linking up with Dion Charles (at Accrington), so were aware what he worked well with.

‘There’s so much to Colby, he’s such an unselfish player, it’s always team first. Ultimately, he’s our first defender in the way he defends from the front with such intensity and energy.

‘You can’t call them target men anymore, people don’t use that word now. So he’s an unselfish link player!’

Pompey had started the season with Ipswich’s Joe Pigott matched with Bishop in attack.

An impressive opening game at Sheffield Wednesday saw Pigott claim two assists and his partner net a debut goal.

Now the Scarlett/Bishop axis is preferred, although Cowley is revelling in the striking options at his disposal.

And with the arrival of Josh Koroma from Huddersfield, Pompey’s boss expects the strike pairing to vary throughout the campaign.

Cowley added: ‘This is the great thing. You need different players for different games, that’s really important.

‘We know it’s a 46-game season, while if you are successful with good runs in the cups, you can play somewhere near 60 games. So you’re going to need different tools on a weekly basis.

‘Josh Koroma can go and play up there as well, which gives us another good option.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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