Second to none in league: Portsmouth boss’ big statement over his Blackpool ever-present as frustrations grow

And the Blues boss pinpointed the loanee as being unsurpassed in League One, when it come to the commitment and intensity of his pressing.

Mousinho has backed Dale to increase his output over the remainder of the season, after a single goal and five assists to date.

The head coach knows the Blackpool man will want a better return than he’s produced, but his eyes tell him he’s getting performances from Dale.

That belief has been reflected in the 24-year-old starting each of Mousinho’s nine games in charge.

Mousinho said: ‘There’s a reason I’ve started Owen in nine out nine games - because of what he gives us.

‘He gives us at the very, very minimum a huge amount of physical output in terms of the ground he covers.

‘His pressing is probably second to none in the league. He can get up and down really, really quickly with pace and intent.

‘On top of that, I know he can play.

‘He’s technically a very good player. He causes defences a lot of problems.

‘He did that again the other night, when he got some great crosses in and was a constant threat.

‘I know Owen will want more and we absolutely want to see more from Owen in terms of goals and assists, but there is no one in the building who will be harsher on Owen Dale than Owen Dale himself.

‘He makes my job easier because he wants it badly.

‘You probably start looking at goals and assists more when your eyes start telling you there’s something in the performance you need more of.

‘Some players just score or just assist, but you see there’s things lacking in their play.

‘There’s been plenty of centre-forwards over the years, and I’ve played against them, where you think he doesn’t actually do anything - but he pops up and scores.

‘That’s great for some, brilliant, and maybe you need those players in your side, but the better player for me is the one who can mix both.

‘As long as you have that threat and there’s capability for improvement, I think you’re fine.

‘As I say, there’s a reason why Owen has been selected for all nine starts since I’ve been at Portsmouth.'

Dale cut a frustrated figure after a first-half miss against Bolton on Tuesday night, in an incident where he also appeared to be fouled in the box.

The former Crewe man berated himself over not scoring, with it now 33 games since his last effort against Bristol Rovers last August.

Mousinho is unconcerned, however, and feels Dale has to be aware of not letting his emotions get the better of him.

He added: ‘Owen really wants one.

‘He came close to scoring at the weekend and hit the bar and there was a break where we were 3v1 and we didn’t go to Owen’s side, I think he was frustrated with that.

‘It was an amazing bit of skill to beat three or four players when he hit the bar on his weaker foot.

‘We want some frustration that he’s not scoring, there’s no problem with that. You just need to bottle it in the right way and then go on to score a few goals.

‘We all want more productivity, but obviously the wide men in particular.

‘Something will drop for Owen, though, in a similar way it did for Colby Bishop really.’