Intriguing Callum Lang striker cameo gives Portsmouth boss Swansea and Blackburn food for thought
John Mousinho sprang a surprise with Callum Lang’s striker role at Charlton - and there was promising signs at The Valley.
Callum Lang has been backed to bring ‘something a bit different’ to the table after offering an encouraging glimpse of his striker attributes.
The Pompey attacker offered food for thought with a high-tempo cameo, as he replaced Colby Bishop amid John Mousinho’s team selection shake-up at Charlton Athletic.
Mousinho on Lang striker role: ‘It’s something a bit different’
Bishop was taken out of the starting line-up after 15 games without a goal, with Lang used in a new role after being deployed deeper in his time at PO4.
The early signs were promising at The Valley, with the Blues starting brightly and the Wigan Athletic signing at the heart of some positive play. That was before a medical emergency led to the game being abandoned, with a Charlton fan tragically dying despite the efforts of paramedics.
Mousinho saw enough in the first 12 minutes to be encouraged as Lang buzzed around with his trademark energy, with Conor Chaplin deployed deeper with Min-hyeok Yang and Josh Murphy in wide areas.
He said: ‘It just gives us another option.
‘I still think it’s a little bit early in Mack’s career to chuck him into some of these games.
‘I do like the idea of Langy there, it’s something a bit different.
‘Langy and Colby are very, very different players and when they play as a nine and 10 they do work off each other well.
‘Langy provides that foil really well, but when he plays as a nine he brings a different type of threat.
‘We’re not really asking him to play in a different way, he’s just in a different place on the football pitch. When we press, we usually press with a nine and a 10 anyway, so that doesn’t make a difference.
‘We’re asking him to affect the back line, which he does at a 10, but without a centre-forward next to him.’
Pompey boss on Lang: ‘That’s what we want to see for him’
Lang’s Charlton display showed a more natural ability to stretch the home defence, over Bishop’s combative qualities.
That was seen as the Scouser had an early shot on goal and caused Lloyd Jones some problems, with the central defender picking up an early booking.
Mousinho now has to decide if Lang continues in that role ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Swansea, with Blackburn to arrive at Fratton Park next weekend.
He added: ‘Colby is probably more of a physically dominant centre-forward, who gets up against the centre-half. Langy, as we saw against Charlton when Lloyd Jones got booked, is a bit nippier.
‘On a Saturday he got a shot in and looked lively in that first 10 minutes - that’s what we want to see for him.’