What Portsmouth boss said about ex-Liverpool man Harvey Blair after ending seven-month wait for Championship start
Harvey Blair registered his first Championship start of the season in Pompey’s 1-1 draw against QPR on Boxing Day.
John Mousinho has lauded Harvey Blair’s display in Pompey’s 1-1 draw against QPR on Boxing Day.
And the Blues boss aired any injury concerns after his withdrawal 14 minutes into the second half of Friday’s stalemate.
The 22-year-old was one of two changes made by the head coach on Friday afternoon in place of the injured Josh Murphy, who is expected to remain sidelined for ‘a week or two’.
It represented Blair’s first start in all competitions since May’s 1-1 draw against Hull City, which saw him suffer a hamstring tear just 16 minutes into the contest.
Having initially returned to action in October, which saw him feature twice from the bench against Watford and Stoke City, the winger would be once again sidelined for almost two months with a fresh setback.
Blair was lively on the left-hand side in place of the absent Murphy, and had a chance to open the scoring from the edge of the box mid-way through the opening 45 minutes
Pompey boss on ‘excellent’ former Liverpool man
But the forward, who made the move from Anfield in August 2024, was withdrawn 14 minutes after the break, with Mousinho admitting after the 1-1 draw that his substitution was pre-planned.
And the head coach has praised the winger for an ‘excellent’ showing on his comeback to the side after a lengthy absence.
He told The News: ‘He was fine, we were always just wary of making that change.
‘I thought Harvey was excellent, considering it was his first start in seven months. Really pleased for Harvey.
‘I thought he looks lively from what we’ve seen, we’ve seen glimpses of that in the past and saw glimpses again today (against QPR).
‘It was a solid enough performance, fitness is the next thing for Harvey.
First of all it’s to make sure he stays fit and second of all he builds up that fitness so we can see him for longer in games and also in those games he can keep going, keep going, keep going.
‘He worked really hard today, created plenty and I was pleased for him.’
Harvey Blair’s Pompey career to date
Blair, of course, made the move to Fratton Park from Liverpool in August 2024, having risen through the ranks at Anfield.
It was a tough start to life on the south coast as he made the leap into senior football for the first time, which saw him total 12 appearances.
Despite featuring in all of his first seven available matches, the winger was seen just once in Pompey’s following 30 fixtures between September 2024 and April 2025.
However, after returning to the fray against Millwall at the start of April, Blair ended the campaign strong, which saw him net his first senior goal against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
A hamstring injury sustained against Hull on the final day in May would keep the young forward out until October, which has limited him to just four outings so far this term.