Portsmouth boss’ midfield admission as £1m man finds himself in cold amid search for winning formula
The South Africa international hasn’t made the past three Pompey squads, as John Mousinho shuffles his midfield options in search of the right formula.
John Mousinho has admitted he’s still hunting for the right Pompey dynamic in the middle of the park as his side enter a critical period.
And the Blues boss spoke of the challenge of affording new midfield options time to adapt - and balancing that against the critical requirement for picking up Championship points now.
Mousinho: ‘We haven’t quite settled on midfield pairing yet’
South African international, Luke Le Roux, has been a case in point, with the £1m signing left out of the past three squads ahead of this weekend’s trip to Charlton Athletic.
The 25-year-old has been through a tumultuous start to life in England, starting four games and making as many appearances off the bench.
Andre Dozzell has been the constant league presence in the two-man central partnership so far, with Le Roux, Marlon Pack, John Swift and Mark Kosznovszky paired with the QPR arrival.
Dozzell serves a one-game ban this weekend after collecting five yellow cards, meaning Mousinho will have to shuffle his pack once again with the Pompey boss having plenty to mull over.
He said: ‘We haven’t quite settled on that midfield pairing yet.
‘I think with Luke, the reason we’ve played him in games and started him in games is because we thought he was ready to adapt, and he’s done that.
‘He probably struggled a little bit against Wrexham early on, but then came into the game well. That’s why we started him against Hull, but it was pretty clear to see in terms of the decision we made at half-time where we thought that game was going. It’s just one of those things.
‘What we have to do is balance that time and give players time to adapt, get to the level and the speed of the game. That’s versus the short-term needs of the team.’
Mousinho on Le Roux: ‘Still really early in his Pompey career’
Dozzell’s suspension enhances Le Roux’s chances of squad involvement as Pompey aim to arrest a run of one win in nine games, which has seen them fall into the Championship bottom three.
Despite not being named in the 20-man group of late, Mousinho underlined he has no issues with the former Volendam’s attitude or level of application.
The Pompey head coach highlighted it’s still early days for Le Roux, after agreeing a three-year deal when arriving from Swedish side IFK Varnamo.
Mousinho added: ‘Luke just needs to keep working hard. He’s a very good trainer, Luke, and a nice, young lad. It’s still really early in his Portsmouth career.
‘I know he’ll be really disappointed not to make those squads, but there’s no short-term panic for him - he just needs to be ready when called upon.’