'We don't know' - Portsmouth boss' honest response when asked about Spurs and Blackpool loanees' FA Cup second-round availability

Blues boss Danny Cowley confirmed he is still seeking permission from both players’ parent clubs, Spurs and Blackpool, to include the duo in his match-day plans.

The Fratton Park outfit remain in ‘constant dialogue’ with the Premier League and Championship sides – but, importantly, remain in the dark over their availability.

Both were denied approval to feature in Pompey’s first-round 3-1 win at Hereford on Friday, November 4.

Pools boss Michael Appleton made his initial ruling on Dale as he weighs up a January return to Bloomfield Road for the winger.

But despite Tottenham refusing striker Dale permission to feature at Edgar Street, Cowley claimed at the time that the 18-year-old would be available for any second-round game.

Now it appears Antonio Conte could be back-tracking on that apparent decision, with Pompey still none the wiser if the exciting forward can play against the Dons with the game less than 48 hours away.

When asked by The News if either player was available for the Fratton Park game, Cowley said: ‘We’re in constant dialogue with both parent clubs.

‘We’re hopeful that they’ll be available but we won’t know until we kind of finalise those conversations’

When questioned if the need for talks at such a late stage was proving frustrating, the Pompey manager added: ‘For us, we respect that it’s with the parent clubs. It’s absolutely their prerogative.

‘We would love to have both of them available. They’re obviously important players and you seen on Tuesday night how both of them were exceptional.

But, yeah, we’ll wait and see.’

Scarlett has scored five goals in 22 appearances for Pompey following his season-long loan arrival in the summer.

He ended an 11-game goalless run in the Blues’ 2-0 Papa John’s Trophy win at Ipswich on Tuesday night – an individual performance which Cowley described as ‘the best he’s seen in 15 years in football management’.

Meanwhile, Dale has scored once and created four assists during his time away from Blackpool, who sit second from bottom in the Championship table.

If both players are denied the opportunity to feature against the Dons, it will do little to dampen speculation that they could be recalled early by their parent clubs in January.

Fellow loanees Josh Griffiths (West Brom), Josh Koroma (Huddersfield) and Joe Pigott (Ipswich) were allowed to feature in the FA C up win at Hereford earlier this month.