‘The best ability is availability’ - ex-Luton and Bristol City midfielder’s Portsmouth promise ahead of new campaign

And while the midfielder isn’t looking to change his game, he has set his sights on reducing the number of suspensions he picks up.

The 26-year-old received two red cards across the second half of last term and missed four of the final six games of the season after being dismissed against MK Dons.

As well as that, a foot issue, a hernia injury, World Cup involvement and international breaks heavily impacted his game time at Fratton Park - seeing him feature 29 times in League One.

And Morrell has insisted he will be looking to improve his disciplinary record next term in order to play a key part in Pompey’s potential promotion push.

‘The best ability is availability,’ he told The News.

‘Last year for whatever reason I struggled with injury and then second half of the season I picked up a few suspensions, which has been spoken about a lot. That is the target for me this season (to be available as much as possible).

‘I’ve never questioned my ability or durability and this year I’ve got to put extra emphasis on trying my best to be available for every game because that’s what the best players do.

‘The top stars around the world and the best players I’ve played with make sure they’re available for 46 games plus and that’s the intention for me next season.’

In total, Morrell picked up two red cards and amassed 10 yellow cards for the Blues last term. And the former Lincoln man was also given his marching orders during Wales’ Euro 2024 qualifier against Turkey in June.

While the midfielder hasn’t dismissed the chances of being sent off again in his career, he is working hard to reduce the amount of dismissals in his game.

He added: We (Mousinho and Morrell) spoke on the back of the incident at MK Dons. There’s nobody harsher on themselves and more critical than me. At the time I held my hands up to it, it was a horrible feeling and something I don’t want to experience again.

‘Am I going to get sent off in my career again? Probably. I don’t want it to be this season of course and I just need to make sure I play my game on the edge.

‘If I wasn’t aggressive or on the edge then I wouldn’t be sitting here now but I need to find that balance. If I want to pick up cards then I need to pick them for the right reasons and make sure they’re yellows and not reds.’