Portsmouth boss addresses Ben Killip kicking concerns after supporter criticism
The former Barnsley man has been given the nod to replace the injured Nicolas Schmid
John Mousinho moved to allay fears over Ben Killip’s kicking and reassured the Fratton faithful: He will be absolutely fine.
The former Barnsley man is set for a spell as Pompey’s number one after Nicolas Schmid was ruled out for up to 12 weeks having fractured his hand against Southampton.
Killip now has the nod over newcomer Joseph Bursik for Saturday’s visit of Sheffield Wednesday and the foreseeable future, although supporters have questioned his kicking.
But the Blues’ head coach is adamant it isn’t a concern - and he has every faith in that aspect of the goalkeeper’s game.
‘Ben’s kicking is really good’
Mousinho told The News: ‘Ben’s kicking is really good. Over the next few games, I am sure people will see that it is very good.
‘Against Southampton, I am sure he was disappointed with a couple of those early kicks, but I did say at the time a goalkeeping substitute doesn't actually get a chance to warm-up properly. All of a sudden, we’re expecting him to kick the ball 80 yards and get it up the pitch. Plus the atmosphere with the significance of the game.
‘Honestly, Ben is fine. You saw the Sheffield Wednesday game where his distribution was excellent, he can definitely do it.
‘Against Southampton, there was one he did kick straight out of play, but that was because Adam Armstrong was standing about seven yards away from him. The referee hurried Ben up and hurried him up - and he ended up going a bit too quickly on that one.
‘As the game went on you could see he got a bit more involved and a bit warmer. He will be absolutely fine, that’s one of the reasons we brought him into the football club.
‘We are not quite as possession-dominant as we would have been when we were in League One, but we still need the goalkeeper to distribute the ball really well.
‘We've looked to really add that towards the back end of the season and early this season as well. We definitely need goalkeepers who can come in and play.’
Competing with Joseph Bursik
Bursik, who arrived on deadline day from Club Brugge, will be named on the bench against the struggling Owls, serving as Killip’s back-up.
That would represent his maiden first-team involvement, having been in attendance at St Mary’s as a third keeper and not involved in the 20-man squad.
And Mousinho believes it’s ‘close’ between Bursik and Killip in the battle to be Pompey number two.
Portsmouth boss: Ben deserves his starting spot
He added: ‘It’s close, they are two excellent goalkeepers and we wanted to have that competition.
‘Ben came in and did terrifically well at the weekend and deserves his starting spot - and we will keep monitoring the situation. That’s like it with every position, it's not unique.
‘Joe’s looked good. We don’t necessarily have that defined order in the goalkeeping pecking order below having a number one. Nico clearly is that at the moment, although we want players to come in and challenge.
‘Joe has done that since he’s arrived, he has provided really good competition. We now have three really solid goalkeepers behind Nico who we are comfortable playing at this level and we’ll see how that pans out.’