The Portsmouth forgotten four struggling to catch John Mousinho's eye - with Ipswich, Spurs and ex-Sunderland players short of first-team action

Denver Hume, Joe Pigott, Reeco Hackett and Dane Scarlett have barely been called upon in the new head coach’s opening four matches.

With seven points and one defeat so far, it has been an encouraging entrance by Mousinho, who is next challenged with a trip to second-placed Plymouth.

Yet for some members of the squad he inherited from Danny Cowley, it’s already proving a struggle to break into his team.

The quartet of Hume, Pigott, Hackett and Scarlett have made just five appearances between them during that four-game period.

It’s no wonder a behind-closed-doors friendly with AFC Wimbledon took place on Tuesday afternoon in a bid to provide match minutes to fringe players.

With all four starting the 3-1 win in which Pigott and Hackett were among the scorers, it also allowed Mousinho to have a closer look at the players at his disposal.

In the case of Hume, he has so far featured for just two minutes under the head coach as the Fratton faithful continue to wait for his time on the south coast to ignite.

Despite named in all four of Mousinho’s squads, his only outing has been a two-minute cameo off the bench in the 2-0 win at Fleetwood.

Instead Connor Ogilvie has been preferred at left-back in the 4-3-3 system introduced since the new man’s appointment.

Pigott registered his fifth goal of the campaign at the Cod Army after entering as a substitute, yet totals just 15 minutes under Mousinho.

The on-loan Ipswich striker had similarly been used sparingly by predecessor Cowley, with leading scorer Colby Bishop an obvious first choice.

As it stands, though, Pigott has been on the bench in all four of Mousinho’s matches in charge – and used twice.

Hackett is a curious one, having made an impressive entrance off the bench at Peterborough to superbly invigorate a lifeless Blues trailing 2-0.

Yet that 32-minute appearance represents his only outing under Mousinho, despite named in his four squads.

In the aftermath of Hackett shining at London Road, he still wasn’t used in the following fixture against Barnsley, instead being an unused substitute.

Finally there’s Scarlett, whose scintillating start to the campaign disappointingly petered out during Cowley’s final days in charge.

Since Mousinho’s arrival he was handed a start at Peterborough, featuring for 86 minutes, yet that’s his only game of the new era.

Otherwise he has been an unused substitute in the remaining three matches of the head coach’s time in charge so far.

There are others also overlooked, but Kieron Freeman was never a regular inclusion under Cowley and his absence of any minutes is not out of the ordinary.

Overall, he has been named in the 18-man squad for two of Mousinho’s four, and not used from the bench in either.

While Harry Jewitt-White was presented with his Football League debut at Peterborough in a four-minute outing.

That remains his only squad involvement of Mousino’s early reign.

In contrast, Louis Thompson has appeared in every match, starting at Peterborough, while in the three games Michael Jacobs has been available for, he has started two of them.

Mousinho has yet to use his full complement of five substitutes in any match and, on two occasions – Exeter and Barnsley – utilised just two.

It remains to be seen whether that’s down to tactical decisions – or the substitutes on offer.