Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley's blunt message to Haji Mnoga as youngster struggles for game time at Bromley

It comes after the 19-year-old missed out on the National League club’s past three match-day squads for fixtures against Grimsby, Weymouth, and Torquay.

Following his loan arrival last month, Mnoga is still to complete a full 90 minutes for the Ravens.

His debut against Chesterfield saw the defender substituted after 75 minutes.

Meanwhile, his only other three appearances have all come from the bench.

He hasn’t featured at all since his seven-minute cameo appearance against Dover on September 25.

And that’s prompted Cowley to throw down the gauntlet to Mnoga to use tomorrow night’s Papa John’s Trophy fixture against Sutton United as an opportunity to prove Bromley boss Andy Woodman wrong.

Despite being on loan at Hayes Lane, the highly-rated teenager – who signed a new three-year deal at Fratton Park in September – is able to feature in the competition.

Cowley told The News: ‘Haji has got to suck up the disappointment of not being involved and stay really focused.

‘He needs to be resilient and determined and do his best to prove them wrong and he’ll have an opportunity to do that tomorrow night.

‘I’m sure the Bromley staff will watch the game back and if he plays well tomorrow night and continues to train well then that gives him ammunition to maybe knock on the door and ask some questions.

‘We’ve all been a little frustrated and disappointed that he hasn’t played more.

‘We anticipated that he would play more minutes than he has at this moment in time.

‘Bromley were really keen on taking him on loan and when they signed him it was only 48 hours later until he made his debut against Chesterfield and he hasn’t had too many opportunities since.

‘From our perspective it’s been disappointing.

‘But you always respect that Bromley and their staff have got a job to do and they will pick the team that they think will give them the best possible chance of winning.’