Portsmouth boss' Owen Moxon warning as ex-Carlisle man prepares to answer luckless Blues' SOS

John Mousinho has warned it will take time for newcomer Owen Moxon to adjust to Pompey’s playing style.

Regardless, the Blues’ head coach is convinced the former Carlisle man is ready to answer his central midfield SOS.

Tom Lowery’s hamstring issues sees him join Joe Morrell and Alex Robertson on the sidelines as injuries continue to pile up for the luckless league leaders.

Fortunately, Mousinho added Moxon to his squad for an undisclosed fee on deadline day to bolster midfield options.

Now, after three substitute outings, he’ll be turning to the 26-year-old as a regular starter, despite the challenges of learning a new system.

Mousinho told The News: ‘Tom has played really well since he’s come back. That’s a big part of the reason why he started because it was still quite early for Owen to come into the side.

‘In terms of the way we try to play with those two sixes, there's a lot we demand of them, in and out of possession, which I think will come with time with Owen.

‘I actually thought Owen did really well when he came on. He grew into the game as it went on and was instrumental in the third goal, where he stopped the counter-attack after picking up a really good position on the edge of the box.

‘I think he’s ready (to start), though, we’re not bringing someone in who hasn’t been starting league games. The only reason he hasn’t come in and started is because we've had players ahead of him that have done so well.

‘Learning the system is not an easy thing to do - it’s probably a bit easier when you come in as a more attacking player into our system. The way we’re trying to do things, it has taken us a bit of time, even within the coaching staff, to make sure we get things right.

‘That’s something I don’t think is going to be an issue for Owen, certainly in terms of fitness, robustness and ability to play at this level.’

Moxon made 28 appearances - 25 of them starts - and scored three times in all competitions for Carlisle before his Fratton Park switch.

And Mousinho has been encouraged by his cameos off the bench so far.

He added: ‘In terms of where we want as a team, there’s a lot for Owen to improve upon and a lot for him to learn, which is great, that’s the reason we brought him to the football club.

‘For him to come in and play for Pompey on such short notice is a massive, massive demand for him and a massive change.

‘Taking all that into account, I thought he did really well (against Cambridge) and was a big part of what we did in the second half. He put a couple of balls into the 10s, finding them really well.

‘He just needs to maybe sharpen up a couple of times when in possession and make sure he knows, like everybody, you haven’t got any time on the ball at this level, you need to move it quickly.’