Portsmouth shift recruitment focus with key areas to strengthen revealed

Blues assistant manager, Joe Gallen, believes additions at the back need to be prioritised over landing attacking options.

Fans are waiting impatiently for their team to bolster their options, with the new League One campaign beginning on September 12.

There’s been no new faces through the door so far this summer, with Gallen explaining he feels Pompey may have to ‘hold their nerve’ to get the men they want.

Kenny Jackett is looking at landing a left-back and central defender, with an attacking midfielder and forward pace other areas being considered.

Gallen feels the options currently within the squad makes the defensive recruits more pressing to bring in.

He said: ‘I understand that supporters want to see players coming in - and there will be.

‘Up front is a position where we’ve got a lot of options.

‘It’s something that we’re looking at, but we’ve got three spaces to fill in terms of signings and players over 21.

‘Then it’s pretty outstanding at the back (that strengthening is needed).

‘Once we can get them done and over the line, I think we will then start looking at forward positions.’

Gallen highlighted the significance of the new salary cap in narrowing the field in which Pompey are recruiting from this summer.

He feels a lot of players who would have ordinarily been on the club’s radar have yet to wake up to the massive change in financial climate in League One.

Gallen added: ‘There’s the financial side of it to think about with the salary cap.

‘People who were financially within your remit, may not be now. Players who you could’ve probably got before are now not coming.

‘Or maybe they have to come in the end because there’s nowhere else for them to go, I don’t know.

‘I’m speaking to enough agents where they say there are players who if they couldn’t place them in the Championship, they’d be saying they’d be looking to place them in the top three or four clubs in League One.

‘But those figures (which could be paid) aren’t there now.

‘I don’t know if these players do realise, but they’re going to have to because it (the salart cap) is here now.‘They’re going to have to realise things have changed.’

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