Portsmouth midfielder pinpoints area he believes will decide play-offs against Oxford United

The midfielder feels the U’s can’t match the quality in numbers Kenny Jackett’s squad have to offer.

And Morris sees that as a factor which will have an impact on the play-off semi-final outcome going into the return at the Kassam Stadium.

Jackett made some huge selection calls as football returned to Fratton Park after a lay-off of nearly four months.

Chief among them was starting Morris in place of captain Tom Naylor, along with Steve Seddon being on the bench as Lee Brown started.

Seeing the likes of Naylor and Seddon on the nine-man bench along with top scorer John Marquis - and midfielder Ben Close not even in the squad - shows the options Pompey have to call on.

And as legs get weary for a quick turnaround in the second leg, Morris sees that as significant.

He said: ‘It’s a squad game and we’ve got a lot of depth, especially with the extra subs.

‘I can see that coming into play in the second leg.

‘The lads who came on did really well and that just shows our depth.

‘Like the gaffer says, we’ve got two teams.

‘Our depth is just really good. We’ve got solid players in every position who complement each other and the competition is really good and it’s healthy.’

Morris has also revealed the story of how he came to partner Cameron McGeehan in the middle of the park against Oxford.

He explained the Blues’ coaching staff ‘stumbled’ across the pairing against Reading as they tried different options and the duo excelled together.

With Morris shining through the return to football that led to him getting the nod over Naylor.

He added: ‘I thought it went well.

‘The assistant Joe said he felt we’d stumbled across the partnership against Reading a few weeks back.

‘Me and Cam played in the second half and did really well and it’s just followed on from there.’

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