No sugarcoating it, damning stats prove forgotten Portsmouth signing needs patience - and a loan away
The former St Johnstone striker has one goal in 14 appearances for the Blues
The wait spanned more than nine weeks, but finally Makenzie Kirk was able to savour precious first-team action.
Admittedly, the outing lasted nothing more than a first half, while arrived in the colours of Northern Ireland Under-21s rather than Pompey, nonetheless it represented time out on the pitch.
Last week’s friendly against their Portuguese counterparts ended in a 4-0 defeat, although the deficit was a more respectable two goals when the striker exited the game at the interval of the clash at the Estádio António Coimbra da Mota in Estoril.
The previous occasion the £500,000 recruit from St Johnstone had featured in a football match was on March 31 - albeit once again for his country in a Euro Under-21 qualifier against Latvia.
Damningly, he has represented Northern Ireland Under-21s more times than Pompey since the end of January.
More international appearances than Pompey outings since January
It’s an alarming statistic which reflects how far Kirk has fallen out of the first-team picture at Fratton Park since arriving from the Scottish Championship in September.
Admittedly, there were injury issues during the second half of the season, yet, on other occasions when fit, he was still excluded from the 20-man match-day squad for Championship games.
An out-of-form Colby Bishop continued to be preferred by John Mousinho to lead the Blues’ spluttering attack rather than a 22-year-old so highly regarded by the hierarchy the previous summer.
A clever lofted finish from the angle over Coventry keeper Chris Rushworth for a stoppage-time consolation in a 2-1 defeat in October 2025 promised much - yet that would be his only goal of the 2025-26 campaign.
No Pompey starts since New Year’s Day
Whichever way you analyse Kirk’s maiden Pompey season, the numbers are deeply disappointing and point to a player who needs to be loaned out next term.
No starts since New Year’s Day at Bristol City. Eight minutes of first-team action since coming off the bench at Preston on February 7. Just four domestic appearances in 2026 - there is no sugarcoating it.
The evidence points to a talented striker who Mousinho doesn’t quite yet trust, instead preferring Thomas Waddingham, loanee Jacob Brown and, of course, Bishop during a relegation scrap.
The substitutes’ bench never lies. A regular reticence to use the same player over a period of time is always a giveaway in terms of his positioning in the manager’s plans at that particular time.
Kirk was unused as a substitute in 14 of the 26 occasions he was named in a first-team squad in 2025-26. There’s an extremely good reason why Elias Sorensen barely featured for the Blues during his brief time at Fratton Park.
Loan away from Fratton Park essential
In truth, Kirk has been tasked with swiftly adapting from the Scottish Championship to the English Championship. Having started the season plundering goals against East Kilbride, Raith Rovers and Elgin City, this is now a considerably tougher challenge.
The 22-year-old requires time and patience to develop with Pompey and, with an overhaul of their strikers essential once the transfer window opens, he is likely to find himself drifting further away from first-team involvement.
The Irishman’s Blues career isn’t irretrievable, far from it, yet he will require regular games out on loan next season to find his feet and grow into the English game.
After all, he shouldn’t be solely relying on international under-21 friendlies to provide the football he desperately requires.