LATEST: Portsmouth boss reveals January transfer focus as attention shifts to bolstering Championship charge

Blues boss John Mousinho has detailed why he feels his League One leaders need an injection of speed in the new year.

The head coach revealed how a lack of ‘athleticism’ in his squad was quickly identified last season, with the challenge to take steps to gradually improve that situation.

Mousinho’s men are flying in League One, with Saturday’s success at Reading making it 26 league games unbeaten and seeing a six-point gap open at the head of the table.

Some of the attacking options have still to find their feet this term, however, with Anthony Scully injured until the new year and Gavin Whyte still settling.

Mousinho explained adding pace is something which will be under consideration in the new year.

He said: ‘Pace is this commodity which is really hard to find. It’s a rare to combine it with someone who can obviously play as well.

‘We’re never going to look at quick players and think that’s not the sort we want, but it has to be the right type.

‘I just think through my career and particularly towards the back end when I got involved in recruitment, pace is such a valuable commodity. It’s such a precious thing to have.

‘We have some quick players in the side, we definitely have some quick players who are just getting going. Gav is one of the quickest players we have in the squad and once we get him going, and I know we talk about it a bit, just as he was coming into form and producing some good performances off the bench he got ill.

‘In terms of that as an attribute, if we do have players with pace it’s a really good attribute to have. That’s at the top end of the pitch and defensively as well.

‘January is another window, so if there was a real pacy option anywhere on the pitch I’m not saying we’d take them - but we’d certainly look at them.’

Things have gone superbly well for Mousinho since succeeding Danny Cowley in January, but he is acutely aware Pompey can’t stand still when it comes to squad planning.

The 37-year-old knows the Blues also have to be realistic, however, about the rate of change - even after identifying pace as an attribute the squad was short on last term.

He added: ‘You see the athleticism of players at the top end of the pitch in the leagues above. It’s a different type of athleticism.

‘We’re trying to build that here, we want a bit more of an athletic squad and side. One of our real frustrations at the back end of last year was that lack of athleticism.

‘It can’t just happen overnight, though, it’s something we’re trying to build towards and something in recruitment we look at.’