January's here: Time for Michael Eisner to give impressive Portsmouth boss some help - Neil Allen's verdict on transfer window

Now, 12 months later, Michael Eisner is challenged with ramping up the funding to preserve a Championship status which took a painstaking 12 years to accomplish.

The alternative is not necessarily relegation, results and performances sparked by a change in playing style since the start of November at Hull have offered huge encouragement and a fighting chance, despite the occasional away humbling.

In addition, there are still players to return from injury, particularly Conor Shaughnessy, Regan Poole and Kusini Yengi, which will considerably strengthen John Mousinho’s first-team options.

Nonetheless, survival will still be excrutiatingly tight, rendering this a pivotal window. Not merely in terms of remaining in the Championship, but also retaining Blues supporters’ faith in Tornante and their cautious approach.

There are those who will never be convinced, irrespective of the owners investing £41m in Pompey since taking over in August 2017, including putting £19m into improving Fratton Park, while admirably keeping the club debt free.

For other supporters, the possibility of a swift return to League One is forcing them to now also rightly question the Eisners’ on-pitch ambition, while re-evaluating last summer’s transfer window which focussed far too much on tomorrow and not today.

It has become increasingly clear that sporting director Rich Hughes and Mousinho were not provided with sufficient financial resources during crucial preparation for the Championship, thereby restricting recruitment plans.

As a consequence, the ever-impressive Mousinho has been handed a first-team squad lacking depth and experience, particularly from the bench, and desperately requires an injection of more quality.

Certainly the argument of whether Abu Kamara, Joe Morrell, Alex Robertson, Sean Raggett and Tino Anjorin have been sufficiently replaced is a valid one.

It should also be noted that injuries to key defenders have massively impacted the Blues this season, with Ibane Bowat and Conor Shaughnessy initially earmarked to be the first-team starting centre-halves. Now it’s Marlon Pack and Ryley Towler.

Still, Nicolas Schmid, Josh Murphy, Matt Ritchie, Andre Dozzell and Freddie Potts have undoubtedly proven successes. Incidentally, three were free transfers, of which Murphy is among the top earners.

The jury remains out on Jordan Williams, Jacob Farrell, Bowat and Mark O’Mahony, who have been blighted by injury, although there have been encouraging glimpses from all but the unfortunate Bowat.

However, the likes of Sammy Silvera, Elias Sorensen, Harvey Blair and Abdoulaye Kamara haven’t delivered. They may fire one day, of course, but not so far when the Blues truly need them.

Silvera’s impending return to Middlesbrough will be no surprise. He featured 37 times in the Championship last season, starting 12 matches, but, despite a promising pre-season, has been a crushing disappointment.

Mousinho’s mind was made-up long before the uncomfortable reaction from some supporters at Bristol City, which, tellingly, was his first outing in the last eight matches - and first start since September.

In the case of Sorensen, encouragingly he scored 23 minutes into his debut at Leeds, which, incidentally, is also the total number of minutes for him over the Blues’ past 12 fixtures.

Yet, other than a missed penalty against Oxford United, has so far struggled to impact matches at Championship level, with that anonymous first half at Cardiff the most damning - and his last start.

Blair and Kamara were signed as promising youngsters with big expectations, yet are simply not equipped for Championship football at present.

Blair has a Liverpool first-team Carabao Cup starting appearance to his name and featured five times as a substitute during the Premier League club’s pre-season tour of America last summer.

However, the talented 21-year-old has struggled so far in the Championship for Pompey, while several injuries have hampered his Fratton Park progress, the latest being a current knee issue.

Kamara may have a grand youth pedigree with Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund, yet previously only ever featured in Dortmund’s B-team in the third tier of German football.

He impressed off the bench for Pompey on his Football League debut against Sunderland in August, but, despite three outings in five games, those subsequent appearances have, damningly, dried up.

The Blues have concerns over the 20-year-old midfielder being disciplined enough defensively, which was highlighted by an erratic 27-minute cameo at Derby last month, with supporter calls for his inclusion since dying down.

With both born after January 2003, they are classed as under-21 players, so aren’t counted in the Football League 25-man squad.

Even if dispatched on loan this month for vital match minutes, which are essential for the duo’s development, that potential de-registering will not create any room for Mousinho to exploit.

Another player signed with potential is Reuben Swann, yet, in fairness, he is regarded as a long-term development project and was never supposed to be in the Championship reckoning.

Arriving from AFC Sudbury in Southern League Southern Central, he has been with the Hawks since August, making 23 appearances and scoring four goals, albeit his outings largely coming off the bench.

Mousinho deserves credit for having steered this Pompey squad out of the relegation zone, a climb most recently achieved following the New Year’s Day 4-0 thumping of Swansea.

Similarly, he’s had the tactical intelligence to adapt the playing style which earned the League One title to now consist of a high press, particularly from the attacking four, and a less patient passing game, with the goalkeeper’s role also changing.

Since being implemented at Hull, they have taken 15 points from 11 matches, having previously taken eight points from the opening 12 games. It's a clear improvement which also doesn’t reflect the travesty at Plymouth and controversy at Watford.

Now Mousinho needs help from Pompey owners - just like 12 months ago. And, once again, a place in the Championship largely hinges on it.