Portsmouth boss Kenny Jackett's defensive advice to Oli Hawkins

Oli Hawkins has been warned not to overplay as he continues his defensive education
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Kenny Jackett believes the defender has to be careful and not be too clever at the back.

That follows another 90 minutes for Hawkins as a central defender in Saturday’s 2-1 FA Cup victory over Altrincham.

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The 27-year-old has earned plaudits for the way he has adjusted since moving back from his position as a striker.

Jackett likes to have his attacking threat on the pitch but feels there were times when Hawkins tried to do it too much as part of his defensive remit.

He said: ‘We overplayed and Oli tried to step in front too many times.

‘He adjusted a little bit in the second half in terms of his play, though.

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‘The other side is that it’s nice when he’s playing that we can put him up front late in the game. It’s another string to our bow.’

Pompey defender Oli HawkinsPompey defender Oli Hawkins
Pompey defender Oli Hawkins

Hawkins appeared to dodge a bullet in not being pulled up for a first-half penalty after tackling dangerous Altrincham striker Jordan Hulme in the box.

Referee Tom Nield waved play on, however, to the anger of the visitors who felt it was a nailed-on spot-kick.

Hawkins was also penalised for a spot-kick in the 3-1 win over Rotherham on Tuesday, but Jackett told how his players felt Hulme went down too easily in Saturday’s incident.

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He added: ‘On that one a couple of lads said he dived, but I don’t know.

‘When I asked about the actual penalty they said it was a penalty, so they were being honest.

‘Did Ryan Williams have a good shout penalty, too? I haven’t seen them again but there were some degrees (of being a penalty) on all of them.’

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