‘Very decent options’: Portsmouth boss welcomes presence of game-changing firepower ahead of Stoke City
Thomas Waddingham, Abu Kamara and Josh Murphy all helped change Tuesday’s stoppage-time win against Swansea City following their introductions.
John Mousinho welcomed the presence of serious firepower on Pompey's bench as Stoke City arrive at Fratton Park.
But the Blues boss acknowledged his squad is still close to being exposed in the event of another flurry of injury setbacks.
Pompey boss Mousinho: ‘It was a good three to bring on’
Mousinho’s men aim to build on their push up the Championship, as the high-flying Potters arrive at PO4 for the lunchtime kick-off.
Pompey will bid to make it seven games unbeaten and a single loss in 11 against Mark Robins’ men, with a place in the play-offs the potential reward with victory.
Denying Swansea City top spot in the Championship on Tuesday night in their 3-1 win sets up that prospect ahead of the international break.
Pompey used their bench to grab that success, with an impressive array of attacking talent at their disposal.
That was seen when Josh Murphy, Abu Kamara and Thomas Waddingham were introduced in an attacking triple change in the 73rd minute, invigorating the Blues’ forward line.
Kamara then won the corner as Terry Devlin fired home the stoppage-time winner, with Waddingham grabbing his second goal in three games following his injury return.
Bringing on that kind of quality is not something Mousinho has been able to do very often in his Fratton managerial tenure, as he acknowledged the difference that can make to his sde.
He said: ‘The first change on Tuesday saw us bring on our club captain, who’s started a huge amount of games this season.
‘Then the triple change we made around the 70-minute mark was bringing on Wadds, Murphs and Abu.
‘It was a good three to bring on and obviously bringing Swanny on late on as well is good.
‘There was then also good players who didn’t come on. That’s the likes of Rocco, Conor Shaughnessy and Ryan Kavuma-McQueen.
‘They are very decent options for us to have all of a sudden, having that strength in depth.
‘That’s what we’re trying to get to with the squad. We’re trying to build a squad which is competitive in every position.’
Though pleased with being able to call on decent attacking talent, Mousinho sounded a note of warning about how quickly his squad options could be exposed.
Marko Milovanović is facing a stint on the sidelines with a quad injury picked up during the second half on Tuesday, with no other players expected to return anytime soon.
Pompey are awaiting news on Iyad Mohamed (calf) with Benjy Arthur (back), Connor Ogilvie (knee), Colby Bishop (knee), John Swift (knee), Mark Kosznovszky (knee), Keshi Anderson (hamstring) and Luke Brooke-Smith (ankle) also sidelined.
Mousinho added: ‘When we’ve got a fully fit squad we’re okay and we can get there, but when we’re struggling with injuries it’s difficult.
‘I do feel though, that we’re edging towards having more players back than not. That’s a pleasing aspect for us.’