This is why Portsmouth boss chose to drop key striker John Marquis and Republic of Ireland international Ronan Curtis against Burton Albion

The Blues boss made three changes with Lee Brown coming in to replace Cam Pring at left-back.

But it was dropping Ronan Curtis for Ryan Williams and replacing John Marquis with Ellis Harrison which were the decisions which caused greater debate.

They were calls which reaped dividends for Jackett, as Pompey produced their best attacking performance in the league this year.

Harrison in particular gave his side another dimension, as he led the line and caused a host of problems for the Brewers.

And the link-up between Pompey’s attacking quartet in Jackett’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation caught the eye.

Marquis was taken out of the firing line after five games without a goal, and a return of one finish in 12 since last season.

Curtis’ form early in the campaign has failed to hit the levels Pompey hoped for from a player rated as one of their prized assets.

Jackett felt the changes were the right call to make - and challenged Marquis and Curtis show the strength needed to get back into the equation.

He said: ‘For us, we haven't got the goals yet so it was right to change it around I felt.

‘We have a good squad and, for them anyway, they will just have to stay strong.’

Jackett pointed out both Curtis and Marquis contributed to Pompey’s win with their efforts after being introduced in the second half.

And that was a cause of satisfaction for him, as he told the pair they will soon get opportunities to stake their claim once again.

Jackett added: ‘Ronan came on and I thought that he played well.

‘Even in a 10-minute cameo at the end, John worked hard to keep us in a winning position.

‘Their time will come again and they just have to remain patient because they're a big part of what we're doing here.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Thank you for reading this story. The News has launched a new subscription offer which gives you unlimited access to all of our Pompey coverage.

You can subscribe here to get the latest updates from Fratton Park, transfer news and expert analysis from our team of Pompey writers.

Every subscription helps us continue providing trusted, local journalism on your behalf for our city.