Portsmouth boss’ fitness message over Matt Ritchie with West Brom and Burnley on horizon

But the Blues will still need to guard against the threat of overextending the Gosport favourite after his Fratton homecoming.

And John Mousinho admitted there is still a process of adjusting going on for the 34-year-old, as he takes on the philosophies being espoused by the head coach.

That is certainly the case for a number of new faces, following a swathe of recent arrivals amid the 15 signings made this summer.

Ritchie came in for his first start of the campaign against Sunderland on Saturday, following his arrival last month after leaving Newcastle this summer.

That follows on from sub appearances in each of Pompey’s other four games to date this season in the league and Carabao Cup.

After getting up to speed with his hometown club, the academy graduate is now in a good place as his team pause for the international break.

But, even with Ritchie’s work ethic, Mousinho will be wary of not working the left footer too hard ahead of the return against West Brom next week and long trip to Burnley.

Mousinho said: ‘There was no pre-season for Matt. We could have brought him in and started him against Leeds and he could’ve broken down, I don’t think he would’ve been up to the pace of the game.

‘So we’ve introduced him in terms of minutes in those first games, he was involved in all of those and made contributions in all of those.

‘In terms of match fitness it’s not going to be there for 90 minutes, but Matt is a really fit lad and physically he’s improved a huge amount over the past few weeks in training.

‘It’s one of those where if you haven’t had a pre-season it’s difficult. Even if you had a pre-season there’s not having a pre-season with the team you’re with.

‘So there’s getting used to the team you are with and getting used all of the aspects of the way we play. Sometimes the intensity of the way we do things is difficult.

‘But Matt’s provided a real boost in the games where he’s been on and will start a lot of games for Portsmouth.’