The Portsmouth scouting missions carried out as recruitment work continues

And John Mousinho has revealed tracking the progress of the club’s young talent in tandem with scouring the lower leagues for rough diamonds has been where the recent focus has lied.

The Blues boss revealed League Two and National League fixtures were on the agenda last week, as games at a higher level paused for the international break.

Meanwhile, staff were sent to Poole Town who took on Gosport, with Destiny Ojo on loan at the home side and both Toby Steward and Harvey Laidlaw with Borough.

Mousinho outlined where his staff have been focussing their attentions.

He said: ‘There’s been plenty of interest, first of all in the players we’ve got out on loan.

‘We had a couple, (goalkeeper coach) Joe Prodomo and (analyst) Dan (Ashby) went to the Poole game and saw a couple of players against Gosport.

‘There’s the Hampshire Senior Cup, the 125 game I was at and plenty of games in between.

‘The international break is one where you don’t get much action in our league, with just two games on.

‘We sent people to a few League Two games at the weekend and the non-league games are always really accessible.

‘So it’s nice to be able to do that.

‘A lot of the games I normally watch are Premier League under-21 matches and they weren’t on because of the international break.

‘There’s a real, good opportunity to see games and with the recruitment staff we have there are loads of people out all the time.’

Mousinho feels having staff scouring the non-league game remains an essential part of the club’s recruitment work, while there are always chances to take in Pompey’s young players who are out on a temporary basis.

He added: ‘The National League and below are always good ones to watch.

‘Take Havant and Waterlooville, for example (where Harry Jewitt-White is on loan).

‘They usually play in Wednesday nights when they are at home, so that’s a good one to watch.

‘Chelmsford, where Josh (Oluwayemi) is, play on Monday - so there’s plenty of good opportunities.’