Whittingham: Forgotten man Maloney on way back

But there are still no loan takers for the teenage winger.

The Isle of Wight youngster made 10 appearances for the Blues last season, including a start in April’s 1-0 win over Tranmere.

However, he has so far failed to make a single first-team squad this time around.

There was also an unsuccessful loan spell at Aldershot earlier this season, resulting in him being called back early.

It adds up to a frustrating time for the wideman, but he is training with the first team.

‘Jack went up to Aldershot and obviously came back early because things didn’t work out for him,’ said the Blues boss.

‘He is training with us, in and around the first-team squad, so is one we need to make sure we try to look at.

‘Who knows, there might be someone who comes in for Jack on loan.

‘But we will make sure he is doing the right things here and is ready for it.

‘I think he might admit himself he came back – having been introduced into the first-team last year – probably expecting he was going to roll into something and be part of it.

‘He then got a bit of a shock with the demands and the people that were here.

‘Recently he has trained a lot better, looked a lot sharper, and I think has got his head around it.

‘This isn’t the under-18s now where you are guaranteed a certain amount of games.

‘You have to work, and work hard, if you want to be in our team let alone a professional footballer.

‘There is no excuse for not working hard on the training pitch, even if you are not in the side.

‘He seems to have got his head around things and his attitude is a lot better.’

Maloney featured in nine of Pompey’s last 10 matches last season, the vast majority coming off the bench.

He made two substitute appearances for Aldershot in August on loan.