Portsmouth boss reveals plans to deal with having no senior strikers as side prepare to begin pre-season action

The Blues boss admitted he’s having to be creative when it comes to training sessions, with a lack of forward options at his disposal.

And that adaptability looks likely to be taken into action this weekend, with his side facing two quickfire games as they get their warm-up outings underway.

Pompey face Hawks on Saturday before going to Privett Park on Sunday to take on Gosport Borough at Privett Park.

They do so with Cowley facing an unprecedented situation in his managerial career, in not having an experienced forward option at his disposal.

Third-year scholar Dan Gifford is the only out-and-out attacking option at Cowley’s disposal at present.

Newly-signed academy prospect Destiny Ojo was called into the first-team set-up, but was dealt a desperate setback after breaking his ankle in training in Monday.

Cowley pinpointed Ronan Curtis and Jayden Reid as other options he can use up front at present, with Reid making promising progress in pre-season after missing the entirety of last term with a knee injury.

There’s no doubt it’s a scenario which is far from ideal for the Pompey boss, as his squad prepare to jet off to Spain next week for a warm-weather training camp and fixture against Qatar SC.

But Cowley knows it’s a scenario he has and his players have to adjust to while it continues.

He said: ‘We’re having to adapt, that’s what we have to do.

‘The first two weeks of pre-season are about building aerobic capacity.

‘There’s a lot of physical returns to gain and naturally we do things on a bigger scale.

‘As a consequence you need good balance in the squad.

‘We know we’re short at the top end of the pitch, but we’ve got Dan Gifford, Jayden Reid can play as a forward, Ronan can play as a forward and we had young Destiny from the academy (before his injury).

‘It’s going to give these players the opportunity to showcase their talents.’