'Out of position': Portsmouth boss addresses the intriguing tactical switch which could become permanent

John Mousinho is ready to extend Callum Lang’s stint ‘out of position’ after a sparkling introduction.

And despite the unfamiliarity in a Pompey shirt, he is convinced the 26-year-old is well equipped to continue performing regularly on the right wing.

With newcomer Adrian Segecic handed the number 10 role against Oxford United, Lang instead moved to the right flank for the Championship opener.

That positional switch had previously been trialled in friendlies against Reading and PEC Zwolle, prompting Mousinho to retain in at the Kassam Stadium last weekend.

Subsequently, Lang was named The News’ man of the match in recognition of a brilliant performance in the 1-0 triumph - while Segecic bagged the winner.

And the former Wigan man is set to stay out wide in Saturday’s visit of Norwich to Fratton Park.

Portsmouth boss: We wanted to see how we could accommodate both

Mousinho told The News: ‘I thought Callum was superb against Oxford, I was really, really pleased with him. He was direct on the right and straight away got at the full-back and caused him a lot of problems.

‘Sometimes when you have wingers capable of doing that, it gives you a nice buzz as a head coach. He probably did everything we wanted.

‘His work-rate was superb and it’s one of the reasons we decided to take him off late in the game. We knew the physical output, you don’t need to see the GPS stats to realise they were excellent from Callum, and we wanted to protect him.

‘I guess he’s playing out of position, but I don’t think it’s really out of position for Callum, even though he has played 99 per cent of time as a 10 for us. Maybe once last season he played on the right wing at Blackburn.

‘It was just one of those decisions we made in the last couple of weeks, we wanted to see how we could accommodate both of those players. They are really good players, they both can’t slot in as a 10 unless we change formation, which we aren’t going to.

‘With the options we have across the front line at the minute, we thought it was a really good opportunity for Langy to do it.’

Five Portsmouth starts on the right wing in 2024-25

Just five of Lang’s 28 starts last season were on the right wing, although he did score against Burnley and QPR from the position.

His remarkable four-goal haul against Coventry in December, however, was accomplished from the number 10 role, operating behind Colby Bishop.

With 14 goals in 36 appearances since joining in January 2024, primarily centrally, Lang has been a magnificent addition to Mousinho’s squad.

And the head coach believes the Scouser’s driving runs down the right flank offers a precious counter-attacking threat away from Fratton Park.

Portsmouth boss: It’s one of the things we have worked on a huge amount

He added: ‘Maybe that is one thing we could have done a bit better in the second half.

‘We did it well in the first half, but, as we sat a bit deeper and changed the personnel slightly, I thought we could have broken a little better, particularly as Colby had a very, very good afternoon, dominating the proceedings. We could have broken off him a bit more.

‘It’s one of the things we worked on a huge amount in pre-season and we need to continue to get better in some areas.’

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