'I don’t know what else more he can do': Liam Daish on why starlet deserves to get Portsmouth contract - and comparisons with Coventry's Matt Godden

And the Blues’ professional development phase coach is adamant the talented striker ‘can do no more’ in his bid to earn a third-year scholarship.

Gifford has bagged four goals in 10 appearances doing an ongoing loan at the Rocks, impressive progress which to inevitably have caught the eye of the Fratton faithful.

He was also part of Pompey XI side which last night clinched a Hampshire Senior Cup quarter-final presence following a penalty shoot-out win over AFC Stoneham.

The former Oaklands Catholic School pupil graduates from Pompey’s Academy at the end of the season – yet his Fratton Park career is uncertain.

Daish insists he does not have a say in whether the 18-year-old is handed a fresh deal.

But it is abundantly clear Gifford has his vote.

Pompey’s Academy coach told The News: ‘Dan is a centre-forward that chases, harries, scores goals, is physical for the size of him and, as a centre-half, you wouldn't want to play against because he’ll keep going right to the end looking for that chance.

‘There is still a lot of growth in him development-wise and, because of his attitude and how he commits to everything he does, he is only going to get better.

‘I don’t make those decisions (about contracts), we will soon see, they are coming to the end of their scholarship now.

‘But, if you are talking about Dan, I don’t know what else more he can do.

‘It will be down to opinion or whether people are in front of him, but he’s going to play somewhere because he has that attitude, drive and desire to want to make it.

‘When I was manager at Ebbsfleet, I took a lad on loan from Scunthorpe – Matty Godden – he was aged 18/19.

‘I see a lot of similarities between Matt and Dan. They are not the biggest, but they’re sharp over 10-15 yards and love scoring goals.

‘I didn’t have a say in contracts last year, I’ve got to be honest. Obviously I feed back to the Academy manager, whether that’s loan reports and things like that.

‘The ultimate decision would lie with the first-team because it’s going into their budget. Then it comes down to what’s in front, what sort of player they want, I don’t know.

‘That’s the thing about football, it’s all about opinions.’

Emsworth-based Gifford played the full 90 minutes in front of the watching Danny Cowley at Stoneham last night.

He also netted his spot kick in the 5-4 penalty shoot-out triumph after the match finished 1-1 at full-time.

Daish added: ‘Dan’s doing well at Bognor and that’s exposure, he’s getting a bit of a reputation, people are talking about him.

‘Everyone wants goalscorers and players who have that work ethic as well.

‘From speaking to Robbie Blake, I know for a fact he loves Dan, and Robbie wasn’t a bad forward himself.

‘He has become a bit of a hero over there, a cult figure, they really enjoy him being at their club.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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