Portsmouth boss challenges Middlesbrough winger after 'excellent sparks' amid sluggish start

Much was expected of the Australian international after arriving on a season-long loan from Middlesbrough, particularly with the Blues having pursued his signature the previous summer.

According to Mousinho, the 23-year-old has subsequently shown ‘some excellent sparks’, yet consistency has been a concern.

Indeed, Silvera has started just two of the Blues’ last six matches - but their head coach is convinced there’s still plenty more to come.

Mousinho told The News: ‘We have seen glimmers of what Sammy is really good at and I think we have seen some excellent sparks.

‘There have been a couple of games where he’s looked our biggest attacking threat and there have probably been some games we haven’t quite seen that, so it’s just about getting that consistency with him.

‘In a couple of games - Millwall and Luton - he has been our most potent attacking threat, but we haven’t quite had the final product off the back of that.

‘There are a lot of things pleasing me about Sammy’s game, such as his work-rate, he’s coming on and getting the way we want to press. It’s just a case of building up on that and making sure we see a lot more in terms of the final product.

‘He’ll definitely improve. The most important thing for Sammy is to come away from games with goals and assists.

‘I have seen everything but that in some of his better performances, where he’s looked a real threat coming in off the left and maybe slightly unlucky on a couple of occasions. He’s been slightly wasteful on a couple of other occasions when he’s had chances to cut in on his right foot in particular.

‘When you do that you give the manager a really difficult task because if you score goals, it’s very difficult to leave players out of the team.’

Mousinho also has sympathy for Silvera over his international schedule, with the winger not expected to return for Pompey training until Friday.

He has been away with Australia for their World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan, although wasn’t included in any of the 23-man match-day squads.

Nonetheless, he was with the team in Japan on Tuesday for a 1-1 draw and is now in the process of returning to the south coast.

He added: ‘What also has been difficult for Sammy is being away for the last two international breaks. As a result, getting that rhythm and flow of games is tough.

‘He is now going to be travelling back a long way and coming into training on Friday. It’s hard to sometimes get the consistency when you have players travelling those distances. I am sure that has played a part as well.’