'Really harsh': Portsmouth boss' honest selection admission after axing in-form favourite

Nonetheless, John Mousinho is revelling in overseeing the first-team battle between the ex-Arsenal man and Jordan Williams.

Swanson’s fine form this season saw him start six straight matches at right-back for the Blues, including being chosen ahead of Williams on occasions.

That was until Oxford United, when Swanson was among four players who paid the price for the Stoke debacle.

By Mousinho’s own admission, It was a tough decision to leave out one of the better performers upon the Blues’ Championship return.

Yet he was delighted with Williams’ response - both on and off the pitch.

Mousinho told The News: ‘Zak’s done really well this season, it was really harsh on him (left out against Oxford). One bad game among 11 players that played poorly at Stoke - and he found himself out of the side.

‘I wanted to freshen things up a bit for Oxford and I don’t think Zak had one of his better games at Stoke, so I went with Jordan.

‘When you've got that combination of two right-backs who are right at it, competing with each other, it was the right thing to do to make that change.

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‘I thought Jordan was really good. He was an outlet in the first-half, he provided a load of energy, he’s always got a difficult job defensively with whoever he is facing if you look at the wingers across the league this year, but he did really well.

‘He’s a real athlete. When I left Jordan out of the side, I didn’t really have too much to say to me. It was just a case of Zak had performed really well at right-back, while Jordan had played centre-half and hadn’t done anything wrong.

‘The message was “I haven't got anything for you really, just be disappointed and keep your head down” - and he has done.

‘You saw that because he played so well against Oxford.’

Williams was selected as a right wing-back against the U’s, with Mousinho implementing a system switch to a 3-5-2.

The summer recruit from Barnsley had previously lined-up as an emergency centre-half for four matches, a position which clearly didn’t bring out the best of his talents.

Yet it was a much brighter individual display against Oxford, featuring for 85 minutes before being replaced by Swanson in the 1-1 draw.