Portsmouth boss addresses 'brilliant' attacker's first-team absence after low-key start since Newcastle exit

Yet Pompey’s head coach insists the 35-year-old is ‘close’ to breaking into his first-team.

Ritchie has started just one match this season, with the former Newcastle man instead largely confined to bench duty, despite being fit.

Now in his second spell at Fratton Park, the attacker’s emotional homecoming was secured days before the campaign kicked off, thereby crucially missing out on pre-season.

Yet with more than two months of the season having passed, he has featured in just two of the Blues’ last five matches, both as a substitute.

Mousinho told The News: ‘Matt is close to getting into the team. The challenge for him is to really impress in training and to really impress when he gets his chance to come into games.

‘Something we are continually working on with Matt is the physical side and making sure he is up to pace with our style of football and up to pace with Championship football.

‘We know he has all the quality there, but when you've spent a couple of years not having played a huge amount of games, that is a really big challenge.

‘Matt has been amazing around the place, he’s been a brilliant signing, and we are really happy to have him.’

‘He’s challenging for a spot in the side, that’s the way I put it. We are not holding him back on account of anything at the moment, he is definitely challenging for a starting place.’

Ritchie made 215 appearances and scored 25 goals for Newcastle until his summer departure.

All but one of his eight St James’ Park seasons were spent in the Premier League, while he made 13 league appearances off the bench last season, scoring against Bournemouth in February.

Now he finds himself back in the Championship for the first time since 2016-17, when Newcastle won the title to return to the Premier League.

Mousinho added: ‘The quicker we can get Matt firing the better.

‘We believe he can play anywhere behind the number nine, as a 10 or on either wing.’