‘I thought...’: Why Portsmouth boss showed faith in Arsenal graduate with QPR call to make

The Pompey boss believes the former Arsenal man had built enough credit in the bank to keep his place against Oxford United, after being hooked at the break in the win over the Bluebirds last week.

And Mousinho has now weighed up the attributes the pair bring to the table, as he faces a right-back selection poser against QPR this weekend.

Many were expecting Swanson’s run of five starts on the spin to end at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday, after enduring a tough night up against Callum O’Dowda and Joel Bagan in the eventual 2-1 win.

Terry Devlin came on for the 24-year-old and produced a fighting performance, as he added energy to the right flank. That looked like it had put the Northern Ireland man in the box seat to start in Saturday’s 2-0 victory, but Mousinho opted to keep faith in Swanson who did a good job of containing the threat of Siriki Dembele against the U’s.

Devlin did come on and get the assist for Mark O’Mahony’s stoppage-time finish, with there not an intriguing selection dynamic at right-back with Jordan Williams recovering from a hamstring injury.

Mousinho explained he felt it was important not to overlook Swanson’s form before Cardiff, as he considers his next move in that department.

When asked if Devlin was unlucky not to start against Oxford, Mousinho said: ‘Probably, but I thought Zak was really good against Sheffield United and played with a huge amount of energy. He’d been good in the week before and I’d been pleased with his contributions this season, so I just weighed it up.

‘I thought, on one half of football which was poor by his own admission, I didn’t think it was worth completely letting go of that.

‘It wasn’t an easy decision because Terry was champing at the bit and we’ve got three good options there at right back, with Jordan injured at the moment - so I decided to go with Zak.

‘They are very different players, certainly both of them can defend really well. Zak probably coming from an academy background you’d think may not be as accomplished a defender but he really is.

‘He had a blip the other night, but overall since I’ve been here with Swanny he’s been very good. Terry’s a different type of defender, probably more tenacious and front-footed but they both bring different qualities to the table. ‘