Portsmouth boss’ big statement about captain Marlon Pack’s future

That’s the belief of Pompey boss John Mousinho, who has paid tribute to his skipper’s conversion to the middle of his back line.

Pack has now completed six games at the heart of the Blues’ back four, with three wins and two draws secured in that time.

The 33-year-old was certainly the least culpable defender in the loss which arrived in that time at Derby, even amid an unfortunate own goal.

The Buckland boy made it look easy against Coventry on Saturday, as he strolled through the game and gave Pompey another dimension in possession from a deep-lying position.

Mousinho feels there’s every chance dropping deeper could help Pack play on, as he moved towards the latter stages of his career - though the Pompey highlighted his professionalism enabling him do likewise.

He said: ‘I made the same journey at a younger age, going from the middle of the park to centre-half. So I understand what it’s like and difference in the game.

‘That reason we did it with Marlon was because we thought he had the attributes to do it. We wouldn’t have done it otherwise and essentially we’ve seen in recent weeks why we’ve done that.

‘I don’t see any reason why not (he can extend his career by playing as a centre-back).

‘He keeps himself in really good condition and has played close to 650 games

‘There’s nobody who plays that amount of games without being a really good professional and going about their business properly. That’s particularly as a lad who had to build himself back up after leaving here.

‘He went and plied his trade and Wycombe and Cheltenham and built his way to being a Championship midfielder. There’s no way you do that without having the ability to extend his career because of how good he is as a player and how physically good he is.

‘It’s a different physical demand. The distance covered may not be as high but you have to be really quick on the turn or your positioning has to be really good.’

Mousinho highlighted the different challenges Pack has taken on successfully since moving to the middle of the defence, as evidence he can continue to make the position his own.

One of the standout battles which suggested the League One title-winning captain could do so was undoubtedly snuffing out the physical threat of Norwich’s Ashley Barnes earlier this month.

Mousinho added: ‘It’s really different demands (as a centre-back). You may not come up against the same type of players you do in the middle of the park, but look at the type of players Marlon has faced.

‘He’s had players like Ashley Barnes and (Ante) Crnac who was 11m Euros. Then against Bristol City it was Nahki Wells and Sinclair Armstrong, really different and top players.

‘You have to adjust and adjust quickly, I think that’s about being intelligent doing the right things.’

‘The game against Norwich was a good one for Marlon. Barnes is a terrific Championship player who’s had a fantastic career.

‘You could tell early on it was going to be a good battle. I thought Barnes was slightly fortunate early on, he left a couple on Marlon and on another day that could resulted in a card.

‘It was a really good running battle and he’s a really good player, to be honest. So it was good for Marlon because he’s as game as anything.

‘You are going to come up against players at this level who don’t just score goals but have that nous as well. They can do a lot of damage if you’re not on top of them - and Marlon thankfully was on top of him.’