The simple reason why Portsmouth should not follow Cardiff and QPR's lead following Marlon Pack injury setback

‘We will always have a look at what is out there - and there are always some interesting names who pop up,’ he continued.

It’s a route both Championship sides QPR and Cardiff have already utilised in the 20 days following the close of the last transfer window, with the signings of Connor Wickham and Chris Martin respectively.

And with fellow relatively high-profile names such as midfield duo Danny Drinkwater and Dale Stephens still ticking their heels waiting for the phone to ring, it’s an option others might be tempted to explore with two-and-a-half months of the season remaining.

But there’s one key reason why Pompey shouldn’t contemplate a visit down this path as they face up to the prospect of being without injured Marlon Pack for 4-6 weeks – the play-offs.

Or perhaps that needs to be rephrased as – another season without the play-offs.

Saturday’s goalless draw at Lincoln added yet more weight to a thought which a huge number of Blues fans already had, that a top-six finish is long gone.

Despite there being 16 games left to play and 42 points to play for, the 14-point gap to sixth-placed Barnsley is just too much of a deficit to claw back.

And for that reason alone, the Blues should forget about even contemplating seeing what’s out there to fill the void left by Pack.

There’s no point. Pompey would simply be pouring good money down the drain for what would essentially be a short-term fix.

Instead, with a second successive season of mid-table obscurity lying in wait, the Blues should simply utilise what they’ve got and keep any spare monies they might have under lock and key until the summer, when it will prove a lot more resourceful.

It’s not as if they’re short of midfield options - even with Tom Lowery and Jay Mingi still not fully fit.

We’re constantly told the Blues have one eye on the future and have a long-term plan with head coach John Mousinho and sporting director Richard Hughes at the helm.

In previous years, when the play-offs or even automatic promotion were legitimate aims heading towards March, there might have been a business case for exploring free agents.

But in this instance, forgot about it. It’s simply not worth it.

Be pig-headed. Not hare-brained.