Yang Minhyeok backed for Portsmouth lift off after Fratton start impacted by 'bumpy' Spurs pre-season

Pompey believe Yang Minhyeok is ready for lift off following a ‘bumpy’ Spurs pre-season.

That’s the verdict of Rich Hughes after the highly-regarded South Korean youngster dedicated himself on the training ground to regaining his sharpness.

Yang remained with the Blues during the international break, allowing John Mousinho the opportunity to spend more time working with the 19-year-old on the training pitch.

It has so far been a low-key start to the campaign for the winger, who has featured just twice since joining from Spurs, while has been unused off the bench in Pompey’s last four fixtures.

However, the Blues’ sporting director is confident a sustained period working at the training ground under Mousinho and his coaching staff will have helped boost his ‘sharpness’ - and he’s anticipating an uplift in form.

Portsmouth chief: ‘The last training block has been really good for him’

Hughes told The News: ‘Minhyeok has been great. He’s probably had a bit of a bumpy pre-season in terms of going away with the (Spurs) first-team and not getting many minutes, so that has set him back a bit.

‘However, the training block he had with us during the last international break has been really good for him.

‘He’s not been away, this is the first time he’s had a real consolidated period of training, and he’s shown everyone what a good player he is. Hopefully that will get him up to sharpness quickly.

‘Minhyeok has been bright around the place, we’ve been really pleased with him. He will get his chance and I am sure will show everyone what a talented footballer he is as well.

‘He came on against Oxford in the first match and showed some nice glimpses, but then it has been about the way the last four games have panned out for his not featuring.

‘At Norwich we were chasing the game and it went very physical and aerial. For West Brom, we had to defend and press from the front with real aggression, then defend the ball in the box.

‘Similarly, against Preston, the opposition got bigger and bigger as the game went on and that probably predicated John’s decision to make the changes he did.

‘We are pleased to have been able to bring Minhyeok in and, like all the wingers, he will need to bide his time. There is competition for every shirt now, that’s what we always strive to achieve.’

Competition for places after a busy summer

Certainly Pompey have bolstered options on either wing this summer, with Yang among three new faces in those positions.

Florian Bianchini arrived on a season-long loan from Swansea and started three of the opening four Championship games, before finding himself on the bench at St Mary’s.

The Blues also spent an undisclosed transfer fee to land highly-regarded Franco Umeh from Crystal Palace on deadline day, although the 20-year-old has never played a senior match.

With Callum Lang, Adrian Segecic and Terry Devlin having also started on the right flank during the opening month of the campaign, it gives Mousinho plenty to choose from in those positions.

‘That’s out challenge to evolve as a team’

Hughes added: ‘You go back to the Oxford game. Flo (Bianchini) had a couple of opportunities and a couple of moments to really execute the game.

‘Then John made the change to bring Minhyeok on for Flo and the game changed. Oxford went to a back three and launched everything forward, so it sort of isolated him out of the game.

‘That’s our challenge to evolve as a team, to be able to maintain and compete with those levels of physicality and still be able to play good football, trying to make those games a bit more comfortable for everyone.’

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