'I got it wrong': Portsmouth boss' Abdoulaye Kamara admission as he clarifies forgotten man's Fratton Park future

John Mousinho has admitted responsibility for Abdoulaye Kamara’s underwhelming maiden Pompey season.

But the Blues boss is convinced the former Borussia Dortmund man can flourish in a different playing system next season.

Kamara made just six appearances following his August 2024 arrival from the Bundesliga on a four-year deal - and, damningly, never featured in a first-team squad after January 10.

However, Mousinho believes a change in Pompey’s style of football was largely responsible for the 20-year-old’s struggles.

And he is adamant Kamara still has a Fratton Park future.

Mousinho: Kamara doesn’t suit the way we play

The head coach told The News: ‘There is no reason why it cannot be Abdu’s season next year.

‘He has to come back in pre-season in really good shape, have a full pre-season with us, take on board all the information we are giving him.

‘Hopefully the playing style will suit him a bit more next year as well. I have always taken on board that we brought him in as a certain type of player which very, very quickly didn’t become obsolete by any means, but almost didn’t suit the way we were playing - and that was on me.

‘When we recruited Abdu, I said “This is the way we are going to play” and then we changed that, that was obvious. Hopefully if we reintroduce it next year, it will suit him a lot better.

‘I asked the recruitment team to recruit us playing a certain way and, because I got it wrong at the start and then had to adjust, sometimes the two didn't marry up.

‘We then went into January and said “These are the sort of players we want, this is the profile we want” and stuck to that.

‘Hence why, if you look at the January signings, they were successful, by-and-large, in terms of the playing style and the way we want to go about things.’

Kamara hasn’t made a Portsmouth squad since January

Kamara represented an exciting signing from Dortmund, albeit having never featured for their first-team and instead solely turning out in Bundesliga 2.

Within a month on the south coast, he had produced an eye-catching debut off the bench in a 3-1 defeat to Sunderland at Fratton Park.

However, his outings began to dry up and, by mid-December, wasn't being included in Pompey’s 20-man match-day squads.

Kamara returned for his full debut in a 2-0 defeat at League One Wycombe, featuring for the full 90 minutes.

Yet Mousinho believes the youngster has been a victim of switching the Blues’ playing style in November to a more direct, high-pressing game, which didn’t suit his talents.

Portsmouth boss: We want to play more football - like we did against Norwich

He added: ‘Instead we want to go through sixes a lot more, try to dominate possession a bit more, play through the midfield a bit more than we have been. That’s rather than missing it out and landing on second balls and being a lot more physical and more focused on the press.

‘We’ll still be focused on that sort of pressing out of possession, but maybe just to add to it, like we did in the final few weeks of the season. Look at a couple of goals against Norwich, a bit more football.’

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