Danny Cowley admitted he knows Ellis Harrison won’t be happy with his role as an impact sub as he continues to be linked with a Pompey exit.

But the Blues boss believes the striker could have a more significant role coming off the bench than if he was starting for his side, even if he’s not pleased with that scenario.

Nine of Harrison’s past 10 appearances have arrived with the 27-year-old being introduced to the game, with the past five league games seeing him used from a similar position.

Cowley is aware the £400,000 signing from Ipswich Town will not be comfortable with that, as George Hirst is favoured leading the line.

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Harrison looks to be one of the more bankable assets when it comes to the January window, with Cowley keen to reshape his squad for the second half of the campaign.

The likeable front man was linked with moves to the likes of Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle last summer.

There could yet be more mileage in that talk, but, for now, Cowley wants Harrison to impact games whenever given the chance.

He said: ‘Ellis is doing what he can in training to get the opportunity to be able to affect the team.

‘He’s come on in recent games and has been able to affect the team.

‘I always think there are finishers and finishers can be more important than starters, because they come on at such a pivotal moment in the game.

‘The truth is they don’t want to be finishers, they want to be starters.

‘No matter how important you see them as players, they want to start the game. He’s working hard to get to that opportunity.’

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