Portsmouth were always going to find it hard to replicate their first-half performance in the second half of this campaign, as quite a few of their influential players returned to their respective parent clubs in January. The likes of Joe Mason, Ben Thompson, Andre Green and David Wheeler have been missed, and the results indicate that as the Pompey have now dropped to the third spot in the league standings.
Kenny Jackett had recently indicated that his wingers are fatigued and he might have to give them a breather at some point in time. The manager was quoted as saying (The News), ”We always felt they (Jamal Lowe and Ronan Curtis) may need a rest at some stage across the second half of the season. Also, you never know what could happen. Look at the Jack Whatmough situation.”
”It’s all okay and all of a sudden you get an injury. In those circumstances, we don’t want the club to suffer, because we have so much to play for. That’s a big thing. ‘When you do you squad planning you can never tell when an injury can come around or maybe a personal problem. That’s why you have to try to be ready. A fully fit and fresh Jamal Lowe and Ronan Curtis? Yes, definitely.”
We believe the Pompey should make use of their new signing Viv Solomon Otabor who joined the Fratton Park outfit last month on loan from Birmingham City. The Nigerian winger has struggled to get regular game time in the Championship and managed to play just 132 minutes of football in his last eight appearances. The winger though did manage to score one goal during that time.
As Jackett mentioned, he would love to have a fully fresh and fit Lowe at his disposal. The winger has already played 35 games in all competitions and has contributed with 11 goals and six assists. On the left flank, Ronan Curtis has made over 30 appearances this season, so it seems likely that both wingers are a bit tired at this time of the season.
Otabor is traditionally a left winger but can play on either flank. His lung-bursting pace can leave many of the League One defenders on their backside, so the 23-year-old could turn out to be an important asset for the club at this point of the campaign. Portsmouth are now winless in their last five games which will be a cause for concern.
Therefore rotating the players and making use of the squad depth is going to be quite significant over the next few weeks. Solomon Otabor is still waiting to make his debut in Portsmouth colours, and we believe that it is time for the manager to start involving him into the first team to take some burden off the likes of Curtis and Lowe.
