'Absolutely': Portsmouth boss' selection admission as he weighs up unleashing new-look striker pairing
Bishop has scored four goals in his last 47 appearances for the Blues in all competitions
John Mousinho insists he is open to pairing Colby Bishop and Marko Milovanovic on a more regular basis.
However, the head coach is convinced the Blues remain a ‘much better side’ with just one centre-forward on the pitch.
Milovanovic was introduced off the bench to partner Bishop in attack for the final 18 minutes of Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to QPR as Pompey chased goals.
The striker rivals also finished the opening-day defeat at West Ham on the same pitch, when the Serbian international replaced the injured Thomas Waddingham in the 59th minute for his debut.
Mousinho has rarely started two centre-forwards together during his three-and-a-half years on the south coast, preferring to operate with a lone attacker in a 4-2-3-1 system.
However, he has conceded that may change with Bishop and summer signing Milovanovic now at his disposal.
‘I would start them up front together, absolutely’
Pompey’s head coach told The News: ‘I would start Colby and Marko up front together, absolutely.
‘I don’t normally, but I’ve always had centre-forwards in the building, it’s just sometimes we have played with two centre-forwards before.
‘I think it’s an interesting one (playing two up front) because when we have done it, sometimes we do lose our shape in behind and sometimes go a bit more direct.
‘We lost control against QPR. Not that we had control of the game at that point, but, with the initial shape early on, we had complete control of the game and that’s the way we’ve wanted to play, that’s the way we’re trying to play.
‘There’s a balancing act between making sure we have attacking players on the pitch, but keeping our shape.
‘Most of the time we are a much better side and we’ve got much better shape when we don’t have two centre-forwards on the pitch from the start - although playing them both is a possibility.
‘There’s always a possibility of doing it and we ended the game doing it. Now we have two front-line centre-forwards competing for a spot, so there’s always a chance.’
Sixth-lowest scorers in the Championship in 2025-26
Milovanovic was recruited for £3m from Spanish side Almeria last month to boost the Blues’ goal-shy attack.
Mousinho’s men were the sixth-lowest scorers in the Championship last season as they secured survival with two matches to spare, finishing in 18th spot.
Meanwhile, the previously prolific Bishop has now registered just four goals in his last 47 appearances for Pompey in all competitions, raising questions over his ongoing selection.
Mousinho previously made it clear that Milovanovic isn’t ready to start Championship games, having missed the bulk of pre-season while his transfer was being finalised.
As a consequence, the 23-year-old is presently being eased into first-team action off the bench, hence two substitute outings in the opening two fixtures of 2026-27.
During their brief time on pitch together against QPR, though, Bishop created two goal-scoring opportunities for his new partner, both of which were missed.
However, Mousinho has seen enough from the potential double act to convince him to pair them on more occasions in the future.