Five forgotten Portsmouth players who must be wondering what their Fratton Park futures look like
Pompey’s squad has been decimated by injuries this season but that doesn’t mean head coach John Mousinho has complete faith in the players who remain fit for action
Pompey have found themselves thrown right back into the relegation mix following their back-to-back away wins at Charlton and Millwall last month.
Three defeats and a draw have seen John Mousinho’s injury-hit side accumulate just one point since their memorable victory at The Den 23 days ago.
And with the gap to the relegation zone narrowed to just one point over the weekend as John Mousinho’s side wait to play host to Derby County at Fratton Park tonight, the pressure is once again.
Injuries have no doubt played their part, with Pompey going into tonight’s game against the Rams without 10 players who probably think they should be first-team starters when fit and well.
Their continued absences have left Mousinho short of options when it comes to selecting his starting XI and making in-game changes from the bench.
However, there remains a core group of fiveplayers who have found their Blues involvement limited, regardless of a busy treatment room.
Four of the five have played no football whatsoever, despite Pompey’s search for a much-needed win. Meanwhile, none have made the starting line-up as they continue to be overlooked for selection.
In fairness, many fans will understand why they’re not getting the minutes on the pitch they seek. However, these players must also be wondering what their Blues futures look like and whether they can continue to call Fratton Park home beyond the end of the season.
Here’s the five players we think must be considering their Pompey worth as they continue to watch on from the sidelines.
Luke Le Roux
The South African midfielder will hardly look back on his first season in English football with much fondness.
Since arriving for a seven-figure sum from Swedish top-flight side IFK Värnamo in the summer, the 26-year-old midfielder has featured just 12 times in all competitions.
Only four of them have come in the way of Championship starts. while he’s completed 90 minutes on just one occasion to date - against Wrexham on November 5.
That’s despite injuries to Mark Kosznovszky and Andre Dozzell, and 34-year-old Marlon Pack - a player couldn’t hold down a midfield berth last season - continually getting picked ahead of the fringe player.
Ebou Adams’ arrival has pushed Le Roux further down the pecking order. So much so that he’s remained an unused substitute for nine of the Blues’ past 10 games.
Adams remains a huge player for Pompey, even when his energy levels have appeared to drop in recent games. Yet he and Pack are still considered better options than Le Roux, who has experienced just one win on the 12 games he’s played for the Blues.
Jordan Williams
The former Barnsley right-back has made 24 appearances for Pompey this season and has accumulated 46 games in total since moving to Fratton Park in the summer of 2024.
However, just two of those outings have come since the end of January, while the 26-year-old has remained an unused substitute for each of Pompey’s past five games. He’s also remained on the bench for seven of the Blues’ past nine outings.
The form of Terry Devlin has no doubt been a major factor in this lack of recent minutes. Zak Swanson’s performances at left-back have also denied Williams the odd run out.
However, with the games continuing to come thick and fast and Williams a player who can operate in different roles and allow others to switch positions during games, he continues to be overlooked.
An opening may come his way in the summer, when Devlin will no doubt have more interest in his talents. But that doesn’t guarantee more game time for a player who will then be in the final year of his contract.
Joe Bursik
The keeper will have known he would probably play second fiddle to Nicolas Schmid when he arrived in the summer from Club Brugge.
His run of nine games when the Austrian damaged his hand in the south coast derby against Southampton in September will therefore have come as a bonus.
But he would have been forgiven for feeling unfortunate to hand Pompey’s goalkeeping duties straight back to Schmid upon his recovery, after impressing while acting as his understudy.
A recall for the FA Cup game against Arsenal was a nice touch by head coach John Mousinho. But with Schmid not displaying the form he showed in his first season at Fratton Park, is he the automatic starter that we all initially thought he was?
His failure to deal with Hayden Carter’s equaliser for Blackburn Rovers put him under the spotlight. Some might even suggest he could have done more to prevent both of Swansea’s goals last week.
With that in mind, Bursik is probably feeling a bit hard done by as he awaits his next Blues opportunity.
Ibane Bowat
The former Fulham defender is the only member of our forgotten five who has played a part in recent Pompey games. Although, those three cameo appearances amount to just 25 minutes of football over the past nine games. He’s also remained on the bench for the Blues’ past three matches.
Jojo Dia’s selection ahead of him for last week’s defeat to Swansea in the absence of Regan Poole is understandable. Pompey needed a right-footer to play on that right-hand side of the central defensive duo purely for balance.
Left-back Connor Ogilvie’s form on the left of the central two also makes a recall difficult for the 23-year-old.
Those factors mean Bowat has good grounds to call himself unfortunate, However, he’s never really shown himself to be an automatic starter in the 13 games he’s featured in to date this term.
He’s also struggled to nail down a starting berth despite injuries to Conor Shaughnessy and Josh Knight.
The centre-back still has another year on his Fratton Park contract. But recent selections must make him wonder whether he has what it takes to become a Fratton favourite of the future or whether the head coach has total faith in him.
Hayden Matthews
The Aussie is another centre-back who must be wondering when his next opportunity will arrive.
His season has been disrupted by injuries - a problem that has contributed to the Blues having eight centre-backs currently on their books, and nine if you count Ogilvie.
But the last of his seven starts this season came against Charlton back in December, while he was omitted from the squad completely against Blackburn following his latest injury return against Hull (unused sub).
The likely return of both Shaughnessy and Poole for tonight’s game against Derby could see Matthews sit the Rams game out completely as he watches on from the stands.
With fellow Aussie Jacob Farrell getting regular game time out on loan for Western Sydney Wanderers at present, Matthews might just be watching on from afar with a bit of jealousy.