'Areas to improve': Portsmouth boss addresses Madiodio Dia display after surprise Derby start
The 22-year-old made his sixth Blues start in the 2-0 defeat to Derby on Tuesday night
John Mousinho has given his backing to Madiodio Dia - but admits the central defender needs to improve.
The 22-year-old was handed only his sixth Pompey start against Derby, having replaced the rested Conor Shaughnessy in the Blues’ side.
The former FK Haugesund man subsequently received criticism from a number of the Fratton faithful over his display in the 2-0 defeat, which marked a concerning fourth loss of the campaign.
Nonetheless, Mousinho was pleased with many aspects of Dia’s performance, having won the nod ahead of Regan Poole to start alongside Benjy Arthur.
Although he has identified aspects of the centre-half’s game which still require fine-tuning after eight months in the English game.
‘I thought he did some very, very good things’
Pompey’s head coach told The News: ‘Jojo showed every reason why we brought him to the football club and why we’ve played him. Then the other side as well, in terms of the areas he needs to improve.
‘I thought he did some very, very good things and started the game really well, he grew into it nicely and showed some really good touches.
‘Then just some moments where Jojo knows he needs to improve - and we'll keep working with him to make sure there are areas of his game we really need to iron out.
‘But Derby was only his sixth start in this country, he’s still very young, he’s still learning, those are the big things to take away.
‘Six starts is not a lot, but it’s more than we may have expected. We brought him in as cover in January and he came in and actually did very well when he played at Norwich, away at Middlesbrough, at Stoke and away at Coventry.
‘Before Derby, the one home game he started previously was Swansea, so there’s just a bit of adjustment that he needs.’
£600,000 signing from FK Haugesund in January
Having been unsuccessful in attempts to bring Luke Graham to Fratton Park in the January transfer window, the Blues instead recruited Dia.
Signed on deadline day for around £600,000, the Senegalese defender went on to make seven appearances as Pompey secured Championship survival with two matches remaining.
Now, following Ibane Bowat’s sale to Huddersfield, plus the loan exits of Hayden Matthews (Bradford) and Josh Knight (Reading), the Blues have four centre-halves battling for two first-team spots.
And Dia is bidding to keep his place for Saturday’s visit of Cardiff to Fratton Park (3pm).
Mousinho added: ‘If you saw the game (Derby), there are those moments where Jojo maybe gets a bit casual on the ball, he doesn’t quite sort his feet out defensively.
‘He can definitely do it, he is very, very good defensively, he’s very athletic. When he steps in with the ball he is very good - he just needs to develop that consistency. I think consistency is the biggest thing.’