Frustrated Portsmouth boss uncertain on whether he wants to keep reported Birmingham, West Brom and Blackburn target after latest setback

And a frustrated John Mousinho has warned the talented 22-year-old that he needs to see him in action before deciding whether he warrants a place in his plans.

The Blues’ head coach insists he has yet to make up his mind over whether to keep Mingi, whose offer of a new deal in December remains unsigned.

Since arriving as Danny Cowley’s replacement in January, Mousinho has still to see the former Charlton man in competitive action, following injury issues.

Instead Mingi’s sole involvement was 90 minutes in last month’s 5-2 Hampshire Senior Cup defeat at Bournemouth.

Now he’s sidelined once again, this time with an ankle problem collected in training last Thursday, with Harry Jewitt-White chosen on the bench against Morecambe on Bank Holiday Monday.

And with five matches remaining before the League One campaign ends, Mousinho admits Mingi’s lack of availability could affect chances of remaining on the south coast.

He told The News: ‘Even in that Bournemouth game, Jay struggled with a couple of those injuries in the second half.

‘We really want to see him back fully fit – and that’s a challenge for him. He must make sure he’s able to do that over the final four weeks of the season.

‘I’ve seen glimpses of the best of him in training, definitely, but the best of Jay would ultimately be out here on the pitch and we’ve not been able to see that.

‘Although it was his first game back for quite a while, at Bournemouth we didn’t quite see that and we need to get him fit and out there if possible.

‘In terms of whether I want to keep Jay, we must have the conversation towards the back end of the season because we just haven’t seen enough of him.

‘Ultimately, we need to see him on the pitch to make that decision. So it’s one I couldn’t give you an answer on right now.

‘What I’ve seen in training is one thing, but being out on the pitch over 90 minutes is a completely different thing.’

Mingi has played just 16 minutes of first-team football in almost four months.

His most recent outing was as a 74th-minute substitute against Charlton on New Year’s Day, before subsequently damaging knee ligaments in training.

It means Mingi, whose potential free agent status this summer has reportedly interested West Brom and Birmingham, has featured once in the Blues’ last 24 matches in all competitions.

Mousinho added: ‘Jay picked up an ankle knock in training on Thursday and didn’t travel with us to MK Dons.

‘He did try to train on Sunday, but then went straight in after about 45 minutes.

‘It was a knock and he sort of twisted it as well, one of those that’s slightly unavoidable. If we can get him fit, that would be great.’