Rich Hughes responds to criticism over Portsmouth's 'first-team ready' recruitment policy

The Blues’ 15 summer signings have come under growing scrutiny following a poor start to the season which has left them five points adrift at the bottom of the Championship.

Owners Tornante’s strategy of targeting young, upcoming talent to bolster the League One title winners saw transfer fees paid for seven of the arrivals, with five of them aged 21 or below.

Regardless, it has been a struggle so far for John Mousinho’s men in the higher division, with Preston visiting Fratton Park on Saturday.

Yet their sporting director is adamant those summer recruits have been purchased for today - as well as tomorrow.

Hughes told The News: ‘I take the point on board that we didn't win the game, but eight of the group which started at Plymouth had been brought in from January onwards, so I think we’ve affected the group.

‘Probably everyone watching the game - whether that be with a Pompey perspective or just wanting to watch football on TV - would have seen we were the better team and deserved more than we got.

‘We have brought in players for tomorrow, as people like to coin it, but we also think they’re going to help now.

‘Obviously we want more from all of the group because we want to win more games of football, but there is always a balance. It is case-by-case in terms of is this player going to help us in the immediacy? Or is this player going to help us in the longer-term future? If the answer is yes to either of those questions, we will try to bring them into the football club.

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‘Are they first-team ready? In various ways, shapes and form, yes. There is longer-term investment in the players, it just depends on what the perception of being first-team ready is.

‘Are we going to be able to bring in players who are ready to start 46 games? I don’t think any clubs can do that unless you are at the top-end of the pyramid. It’s having that perception of what you expect from season one and season two and to grow into it.

‘But whenever we budget for players, we’ll have an idea that if we are spending a certain amount. we’ll expect them to be starting a requisite amount of games within that.

‘We will never look to spend a huge proportion of money on a player that we don’t anticipate making regular starts.’

While there is plenty of Championship inexperience in Pompey’s squad, the likes of Matt Ritchie and Andre Dozzell offer plenty of know-how at this level.

The pair have recently been recalled to the starting XI and Hughes believes they are now beginning to show their worth.

He added: People just have to be mindful of the adaptation period for certain players, while other players who have come straight in and affected games. Every player has a different scenario.

‘Matt Ritchie was doing a lot of fitness work in the off-season when he was a free agent, but there’s no replication for the intensity of a football session.

‘So while he was keeping himself fit, it has actually taken him a while to get up to speed. He has now started the last couple of games and really affected it.

‘Andre Dozzell is another who has got himself back into the team after an early set-back and done really well.’