Portsmouth boss reveals why he ripped up side to face Charlton

Nonetheless, Kenny Jackett masterminded an impressive Pompey 3-1 triumph at Charlton last night.

For the second trip to the Valley in 72 hours following Saturday’s postponed fixture, the Blues boss ripped up his side with four changes.

Jackett handed a debut to Charlie Daniels and recalled James Burton, Ellis Harrison and Michael Jacobs.

Dropped to the bench were Marcus Harness, Lee Brown and Ronan Curtis, while Jack Whatmough was suspended.

What unfolded was an excellent Pompey display in which man-of-the-match Jacobs scored along with Tom Naylor and Andy Cannon.

Jackett said: ‘We are going to need all of the squad, we are going to need everybody. It’s a busy period, we do need full energy.

‘We have struggled with Charlton at different times as well.

‘For us, last night was a side which I really felt was the right one for this particular game, although it was picked for Saturday and played Tuesday.

‘I do like to settle into a pattern, I don’t like to change for the sake of it, but there are times when we do need to alter things slightly to find a little bit of a flow, particularly after a defeat.

‘Both Charlie (Daniels) and Lee (Brown) are strong players, experienced players and neither will let us down. It might be a situation where we dovetail them. I don’t know.

‘But I do think the position is well covered between the two of them and that’s the most important thing – Portsmouth Football Club.

‘Charlie gave us a really strong left foot, a good delivery and a lot of talking, with very good positional sense.

‘Marcus Harness has had a really good run, but sometimes coming out and freshening up can be a good thing.

‘I also wanted to go two up front with John and Ellis. We needed Ellis and he played well.

‘It was a straight swap between Ryan Williams and Marcus, who played more or less a half each on the right-hand side with the injury time.’

Jacobs, operating on the left instead of Curtis, was outstanding at the Valley, particularly during the first half.

While Bolton shone in the absence of Rasmus Nicolaisen, missing to attend the birth of his second child.

Jackett added: ‘We had Michael Jacobs instead of Ronan, it’s not detrimental to anybody that’s not played or not come on. It’s more about the team and the group.

‘While I do like to settle into a good pattern, we have lost a couple of games and I think the balance of the side needed to change.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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