Portsmouth boss John Mousinho sends blunt message to former Liverpool man after injury frustrations
Harvey Blair has totalled 28 appearances for Pompey during his two-year stay at Fratton Park.
John Mousinho is adamant Harvey Blair has to stay fit in order to establish himself as a frontline operator for Pompey in the Championship next season.
And the head coach has challenged the winger to ‘iron out all of the bits in his game’ to make him a ‘better professional’.
It was another frustrating campaign at Fratton Park for the 22-year-old, who registered just 16 appearances in all competitions.
Harvey Blair’s Pompey injury struggles
Having missed large parts of last term through injury, a hamstring tear sustained in May 2025 forced the winger to miss pre-season as well as the opening two months of the season.
Following his return in November, a fresh hamstring issue saw the 2024 arrival to sit out a further two months before completing his comeback in December.
The former Liverpool youngster started just two of the Blues’ final 15 matches following his return and was sidelined for Saturday’s season finale against Birmingham City due to a minor calf problem.
Following his £500,000 switch from Anfield two-years ago, Blair has netted one goal and collected one assist in 28 outings in all competitions.
And after seeing glimpses of what the young talent can do, Mousinho has challenged Blair to take his game to the next level next season as he bids to put his injury worries behind him.
John Mousinho sends clear fitness message to Harvey Blair after injury frustrations
Speaking to Express FM’s David Howes last week, the Blues boss said: ‘Just needs to stay fit, needs to stay fit and he needs to do that consistently.
‘We need to be able to continually trust him out of possession as well, which we've shown he can do, but maybe not consistently enough.
‘And the fitness aspect for Harv is the biggest thing. The weekend (against Stoke City) was a really good example of the ability that he's got, the ability to drive inside, technically very good, picked out that pass to Segs (Adrian Segecic) and went from there.
‘So we want to try as best we possibly can to iron out all of the bits in his game, his professional life, everything off the pitch, to make him a better professional.
‘We want to make sure we iron all those out so that he can stay fit for 46 games and produce what we've seen in glimpses, but not consistently enough.’
Blair is set to enter the final 12 months of his current Fratton Park contract, although the Blues do hold an extra 12-month option on that deal.