'Tough introduction': Portsmouth boss' admission over ex-Fulham man's struggles - but optimism for the future

John Mousinho admits it has been a ‘tough introduction’ for Ibane Bowat.

But the head coach is convinced the left-footed defender can establish himself in Pompey’s starting XI.

Bowat had made three successive starts for the Blues before the international break intervened, as he ended an agonising 14-month wait for a league debut.

Although the 23-year-old struggled at left-back for his Birmingham bow, he was subsequently restored to his natural position as a left-sided centre-half as Mousinho introduced a back three.

There was the encouraging sight a clean sheet in a goalless draw against Wrexham, Pompey then lost 3-2 at Hull amid three awful goals defensively.

But with Bowat now recovered from the knee ligament damage he sustained in September 2024, Mousinho is delighted to have the ex-Fulham man as an option.

Portsmouth boss: He has the raw attributes to be a good player.

He told The News: ‘We obviously signed Ibane off the back of what he did at Fulham and loans abroad, where he played in two top European leagues.

‘Unfortunately, he then spent 12 months on the sidelines and, when he came back in pre-season, had a few more niggles.

‘He had that pain management issue with his knee which took him a long, long time to get over, so, by the time he actually played minutes in pre-season, his first significant game was Havant & Waterlooville on the Astroturf pitch.

‘He was just getting going again and, by that point, we were very, very close to the season and he couldn't quite get into the starting line-up. So it has been a tough introduction for him.

‘Ibane is athletically very, very good, he’s good on the ball when he settles himself and wants to play forward, and he can defend very well, which we saw against Wrexham. We need to see much more of that.

‘There are obviously loads of his areas he can improve a bit, he has the raw attributes to be a good player.

‘When we decided to go to a back three, that suits him quite well. He’s able to go really aggressive because he's got the cover in behind from another centre-half and plays himself slightly wider.’

System change quandary

It remains to be seen whether Mousinho opts to retain the 3-4-3 system for Saturday’s visit of Millwall or returns to his favoured 4-2-3-1.

Regan Poole, Josh Knight and Bowat formed the back three against Wrexham and Hull, albeit with mixed results for the personnel and team.

The Blues are also without a left-back, with Connor Ogilvie ruled out for up to three months through a knee injury and Jacob Farrell still unavailable.

Although Bowat could well be a left-back option on Saturday should Mousinho restore his back four and his preferred system.

Silencing Wrexham’s in-form trio

He added: ‘In my opinion, the back three against Wrexham came up against one of the Championship’s in-form trios in Josh Windass, Kieffer Moore and Lewis O’Brien and, for the most part, did exceptionally well against them.

‘They kept them pretty quiet and had a very, very good night - and Ibane was included in that. He was aggressive and on the front foot.

‘Once he settled into the second half, he started to take his first touch forward, started to find passes and started to grow into the game in possession.’

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