Portsmouth boss defends Ipswich loanee Conor Chaplin's role - and why it may now change

John Mousinho has defended his decision to utilise Conor Chaplin on the right wing of late.

Yet the Ipswich loanee is in the frame for a return to his favoured number 10 role on Saturday after two of his rivals were declared unavailable.

John Swift will sit out the Fratton Park clash with Stoke through suspension, having accrued five bookings from his opening 11 league matches this season.

In addition, the ankle injury sustained by Segecic on Tuesday night condemns him to the sidelines for the foreseeable future, with the Blues’ medical team currently assessing the damage.

Mousinho views Mark Kosznovszky, Terry Devlin and, of course, Chaplin as the contenders for the vacant role.

Although he admits Chaplin impressed him in the Coventry defeat, despite featuring on the right for a fourth straight game.

‘We aren’t asking Conor to be an out-and-out winger’

He told The News: ‘There are a few different options, we have a bit of flexibility there. With Adrian being out as well, it opens up an opportunity for somebody to play in there.

‘Mark Kosznovszky has played there, Terry Devlin has played there, Conor Chaplin naturally is probably more of a 10 as well and I thought he was much more of a goal threat against Coventry.

‘The finishing is something we would expect him to keep on top of and really improve upon - and we are definitely now seeing the player that we want to see.

‘To be honest, the way we’ve been trying to do it is Conor setting up on the right but not ending up there. We want him to end up as more of a right-sided 10, which is where he’s played for the majority of his career.

‘Against Coventry, it was a case of John Swift would end up as left-sided 10, Conor as a right-sided 10 with the right-back high. I don't think there’s anything down to a position other than what we write down on a piece of paper.

‘We aren’t necessarily asking Conor to be an out-and-out winger, get onto the touchline and take players on. We’re asking him to come inside, find those pockets and do something different.’

The Ipswich loanee is still to register in six appearances

Chaplin marked his second Pompey debut at Southampton last month, yet is still without a goal or assist in six outings.

The left footer has featured in the number 10 role for just two of those appearances, instead being largely employed to operate on the right of the attacking three.

There were encouraging signs against Coventry with his best Pompey display yet of this current Blues spell, capped by hitting the post late on during the 2-1 defeat.

The likelihood is he will be restored to the number 10 against sixth-placed Stoke, throwing up a fascinating team selection with Josh Murphy expected to finally return following his ankle troubles.

‘It shouldn’t affect your ability’

And Mousinho believes all the attacking players in his squad - including Chaplin - should be comfortable in fulfilling any of the front four positions.

Mousinho added: ‘The attacking players should be very flexible in being able to play across the front three or front four.

‘Regardless of where you are playing, it shouldn’t affect your ability to affect a game in different ways.’

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