The Millwall, Charlton, Spurs and Ipswich games Portsmouth have been watching as boss Danny Cowley keeps eye on the future

The Blues boss has also revealed where his latest scouting trips this weekend will take him and his team as he looks to gain an extra edge on his rivals

Pompey are currently midway through a two-week gap in games following players’ call-ups to their respective countries.

But rather than sit back and relax during their League One hiatus, Cowley & Co have been mixing training sessions – and a friendly with a unnamed Premier League side today – with the remaining members of their squad with spying trips.

Some of those have been to check out forthcoming opponents - with Ipswich next up for the Blues on Saturday, October 1.

But clearly an additional purpose has been to check out potential new additions, with some of the games observed having no relevance to Pompey’s upcoming schedule.

Coach Simon Bassey took in Milwall under-21s’ 4-1 win against Charlton’s youngsters on Tuesday, for instance – a game which featured former triallist Abdul Abdulmalik.

Cowley has also expressed an admiration for the Addicks’ academy – one that had Jay Mingi’s on its books before the midfielder was released in 2021.

Spelling out what he and his team have been up to this week ahead of another round of games over the next few days, Cowley said: ‘We’ve all been out.

‘(First-team development coach) Lorenzo Dolcetti went out to Ipswich to watch Ipswich v Arsenal (in the Papa John’s Trophy).

‘Simon Bassey did a double-header, so he went to Millwall v Charlton’s under-23s and then he went to AFC Wimbledon v Crawley in the Papa John’s.

‘Then Phil Boardman (head of recruitment) went out and he went to Tottenham v Peterborough, which was a good game to watch.

‘This weekend, there’s more fixtures so we all get the chance to go out again.

‘We just sent some time on Thursday planning exactly where we’re going and on Sunday we have the opportunity to go to Plymouth, so I will go with Nicky to Plymouth to watch that game against Ipswich.

‘For us, it’s always lovely to see your next opponent and if you can see them live, it certainly helps with the preparation.’

As well as Plymouth v Ipswich, Cowley himself intends to take in Forest Green v Exeter (Saturday, 12.30pm), before heading to Bristol Rovers v Accrington later in the day.

The Pompey manager said watching other League One teams in action before Christmas is something he likes to do so that he has all the information he has going into potential games.

However, he added focus changes somewhat in the new year, with attention turning to other matters – notably transfers.

Cowley added: ‘After Christmas, our focus turns more to League Two and the National League and the identification of players.’