Portsmouth boss' position on top scorer as struggles continue in front of goal

And the Pompey boss insisted he’s happy with the striker’s performances and confident he will soon be back on the goal trail.

Bishop passed up a string of clearcut chances in the 4-0 romp against Cheltenham at Fratton Park.

The top scorer wasted an opening after just 35 seconds on top of two gilt-edged opportunities after the restart.

That comes on top of a golden opening being squandered at Lincoln City last weekend, to make it four games without a goal.

Mousinho is adamant he’s not worried about the chances not being taken, with it clear to the Pompey boss the 16-goal man will soon be hitting the back of the net again.

He said: ‘My message to Colby was the same as after the Lincoln game: keep getting those opportunities and you will score them more often than not.

‘The misses genuinely don’t bother me because I know he will score.

‘That isn’t going to be a problem for Colby long term, because he will put the ball in the back of the net.

‘The most important thing for me is his performance.

‘The goals will come. He will set his own standards and he doesn't need me to tell him he should have scored a couple.

‘He knows that himself and I know he will.’

Despite drawing another blank, Bishop’s all-round game caught the eye and was central to the Cheltenham success.

The 26-year-old came up with two assists as he refused to give the Cheltenham back line a moment’s peace.

Mousinho was impressed with what he saw from his striker in terms of his general play.

He added: ‘If you look at the goal he laid on for Michael (Jacobs), it was a brilliant piece of forward play.

‘He gave their back three a really tough afternoon.

‘It’s massively important.

‘It might sound a bit strange but centre-forwards miss chances. Look at the best forwards in the world – they will go a couple of games without scoring.

‘That’s fine, as long as the other aspects of forward play are good.

‘If you’ve got a number nine doing their job, you will see other people coming into the game and scoring goals.

‘I know all number nines want to score loads, but it’s also important to realise there are other aspects of their game.’