Portsmouth boss' John Marquis goal promise

The Pompey striker drew another blank against Bristol Rovers on Saturday, to make it four games without a goal and just one goal in the past eight appearances.

Marquis missed a gilt-edged second-half chance to add to that total and was visibly disappointed at not adding to his 16 goals this season at the full-time whistle.

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But Danny Cowley insisted he’s not concerned at the 28-year-old’s form in front of goal, and is confident he will start finding the back of the net when the stakes are at their highest.

Cowley said: ‘LIsten, he’ll score when it matters. That’s Johnny Marquis

‘He played really well, as part of a really good team performance.

‘He worked really hard and pressed the ball well. His link play was really good as well.

‘He’ll score goals - he’s Johnny Marquis. He’ll always score goals, he spent his life scoring goals.

‘You have to be single-minded to be a number nine.

‘We all know the rules and you can win and still be annoyed at not scoring.

‘But he’s got to be happy with his performance, because he will always score goals. He’s done it his whole life.’

Pompey’s lack of goal threat has been a big concern of late for Cowley, with the return three goals in the past five games.

But when it comes to Marquis’ contribution, the Pompey head coach stated he’s not unduly concerned by his relative barren run in front of goal.

That’s because Cowley values what the former Doncaster striker is bringing to his team in other areas with his hard-working pressing from the front.

He added: ‘Johnny’s single-minded and will score. He’ll come off and be disappointed, but he can’t be because he played really well for the team.

‘He’s not a forward that only relies on goals, he can give the team other stuff with his movement and pressing from the front. Excellent.

‘He’s Johnny Marquis. He’s not got to worry about not scoring goals, he’ll always score goals.’

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