Portsmouth boss’ message to Ryley Towler as Bristol City signing finds himself in cold despite flying start

But John Mousinho admitted the defender can count himself unfortunate to be left on the sidelines at present.

The popular defender has found his playing time severely limited, after an exciting start to his Fratton Park career following his arrival from Bristol City in January.

Towler has not played a minute of league football since the opening-day draw with Bristol Rovers, with Conor Shaughnessy excelling alongside Regan Poole.

Mousinho told the 21-year-old to think about the bigger picture, as he deals with with frustration at a lack of minutes.

He said: ‘Ryley’s been disappointed not to play - which is great.

‘That’s what we want. We don’t want him satisfied with the spot he’s in.

‘He’s been very unlucky to come out of the side.

‘Ryley has been brought in for the long term.

‘When we bought in him in January, we probably didn’t think he’d do as well as he did at the back end of last year and start as many games as he did.

‘He probably had one tough game here against Port Vale in a tough striker in Ellis Harrison, who we know can be a real handful on his day.

‘Apart from that he was excellent and played against some of the division’s best centre-forwards.'

Mousinho remains certain there’s big things ahead for Towler, who made a positive early impression with Pompey supporters.

He added: ‘Ryley has a really bright future and nothing to worry about.

‘It’s about giving him a bit of time and a bit of breathing space to come out of the squad.

‘He trains really hard, is a brilliant lad around the place and has a really bright future.’