Portsmouth make surprise backroom staff ‘recruit’ as ex-Norwich City and Swindon Town man adds nous to set-up

And the new man tasked with taking on analyst duties and offering his vast knowledge is a figure familiar with the Fratton faithful.

Danny Cowley has revealed he’s turned to midfielder Louis Thompson to do the homework on opponents, as he continues along the road to recovery from a broken leg.

The Blues boss explained he made the move in an effort to keep the former Norwich and Swindon man involved as he undertakes the often lonely process of carrying out a lengthy period of rehabilitation.

That may have been part of the consideration, but the move is one which has seen Thompson excel as he offers his understanding of the game in a vastly different role to the one he usually occupies.

Cowley said: ‘Louis was tasked with looking at Fleetwood for us and doing some analysis work.

‘He’s a very bright kid and he sees football so clearly.

‘So we wanted to keep him as involved as possible and as much as we could.

‘I remember speaking to him about Jayden (Reid) and saying how lonely that road can be, when you’re out injured and not able to train with the group.

‘So we’ve looked to find ways to keep him involved and interacting with the boys.

‘It’s a better place with him around.’

Thompson certainly seems to have embraced his change in role with the hope he’ll be back in action at the start of 2023, after suffering a spiral fracture of his fibula against Bristol Rovers in August.

The moment was a setback for a player, who has known plenty of difficult moments in his career after a number of injury issues.

Last term saw him make an impressive 38 appearances after moving from Carrow Road, however, before he found himself on the receiving end of a late lunge from Glenn Whelan at Fratton Park.

After that moment, Cowley was keen to still tap into Thompson’s enthusiasm and depth of experience.

He added: ‘Louis has got a great knowledge of the game.

‘He’s always bringing in different clips of teams, how they’ve played and different strategies.

‘(Coach) Lorenzo (Dolcetti) and him are always sitting down and watching games from a tactical point of view.

‘They’re always talking football, which is a good thing.’