Gaffer For A Day: Portsmouth had lost four of our best players for Ipswich - what did you expect?
Ryan Lewis, aged 27 from Paulsgrove, assesses Pompey’ 2-1 defeat at Ipswich...
How do you assess Pompey’s performance?
I know it was a 2-1 loss, but I am encouraged. Let’s be honest, we are missing Nicolas Schmid, Conor Shaughnessy, Josh Murphy and Callum Lang - you take four starters from any team at any level, you are not really at your best.
Having said that, last season at Stoke and West Brom we got thumped. We didn’t at Ipswich, though. We dug in and, while we may not have created a lot, we recycled the ball quite well.
When Ipswich were 1-0 up in the opening 10 minutes, we were thinking ‘What could happen here?’. Potentially it could be four, five or six. Thankfully it wasn’t and we stayed in the game.
Who was your man of the match?
Marlon Pack was introduced off the bench at a time when fatigue was setting in. Suddenly he was providing really good passes, producing timely midfield interceptions and always looking for space.
I know some have written him off for this season considering his age and the new signings, but that’s a bit harsh. He’s still got an important part to play in the squad and first-team.
Suddenly we had a bit of composure in midfield and, while Ipswich probably took their foot off the gas at 2-0, we definitely looked better with Pack in the side when he came on.
I probably wouldn't start him against Watford, though. I’d keep Luke Le Roux and Andre Dozzell as the midfield pairing, with Pack and option off the bench.
What did you think of starting Josef Bursik instead of Ben Killip?
While Killip made some good saves against Sheffield Wednesday in the previous match, you know what football is like these days - the goalie needs to play with his feet.
We saw Killip’s kicking at St Mary’s and we saw it again last week, it’s what lets him down. Bursik couldn't do much for either of Ipswich’s goals, but his kicking was accurate.
It was brave from John Mousinho because chucking him in for his first game away at Portman Road was risky. At 1-0 down, if it had gone to 3-4 nil then Bursik could have crumbled. Luckily he didn’t, he grew into it, and will now be the starter until Schmid comes back.
What do you make of Pompey’s winger situation?
Well, we miss Josh Murphy and we are also missing a right winger. Who plays on the right flank is a major problem for us at the moment.
We have Adrian Segecic, while Conor Chaplin couldn’t play against Ipswich and Callum Lang is still to come back from injury. All want that number 10 position, but somebody is going to have to play on the right.
I actually don’t see Segecic as a right winger, he’s very lightweight. We had a problem with Paddy Lane at times last season where he was getting pushed off the ball quite a lot. Segecic needs to step up a bit and maybe hit the gym.
He’s definitely better centrally. He and Chaplin are quite similar, both left footed, and, while he’s a good player travelling with the ball, it’s the final ball which is the issue. While shoulder-to-shoulder with a defender, he needs to do a bit more.
Josef Bursik - 6
Zak Swanson - 5
Josh Knight - 6
Regan Poole - 5
Connor Ogilvie - 6
Luke Le Roux - 6 (Marlon Pack - 8)
Andre Dozzell - 5
Mark Kosznovszky - 6
Adrian Segecic - 5 (John Swift - 6)
Minhyeok Lang - 5
Colby Bishop - 5