Portsmouth legend delivers scathing Blues verdict as Hull City inflict latest Championship blow
Pompey fell to their fourth defeat in six Championship matches on Saturday afternoon against Hull City.
Guy Whittingham has slammed Pompey’s defending against Hull City on Saturday afternoon as they fell to their latest defeat of the campaign.
And the former Fratton favourite is adamant Nicolas Schmid has to return to the starting line-up in place of Josef Bursik.
The Blues’ defensive woes continued at the MKM Stadium as they fell to a frustrating 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Tigers.
Despite a Terry Devlin first half double, set pieces and long-balls forward continued to cause John Mousinho’s men nightmares - a week after the 4-0 debacle against Birmingham City.
And Whittingham didn’t mince his words at full time as he delivered a scathing review of Pompey’s defensive display.
Pompey legend slams defeat to Hull
Speaking to BBC Radio Solent, he said: ‘It wasn’t just the three goals they scored, Hull had two good chances before that and it’s down to defensive mistakes.
‘It’s not being tight enough, it’s not doing everything they can to stop the cross and not being aggressive enough. We know that’s what John Mousinho wants his players to do so it’s not that he’s not giving the message.
‘To be honest, I think Bursik has done well since he’s come in but when you ask questions about whose number one, Schmid when he’s fit is number one. He would be coming to claim that ball.
‘There was a player who was stood by Bursik. So if Bursik was to make a move and was obstructed in any way, he would get a foul. You can’t allow the opposition to get a header inside that six-yard box.
‘It’s not the same thing every week, it’s a combination of different things but it comes down to wanting to protect your goal to the very limits that you can. Portsmouth aren’t doing that so far.
‘That’s how John Mousinho and his staff will be feeling. They’ll be giving those messages and to an extent they will do that.
‘In the first half, Portsmouth started the game - Hull did have a couple of good chances that they didn’t take - but they were slowing the game down. Then they seemed to forget and not do it and that’s when the problems came.’
Pompey’s injury news as problems ramp up
Pompey have missed a number of key first-team regulars in the opening three months of the campaign, with Callum Lang, Schmid, Josh Murphy and Conor Shaughnessy sidelined at various points of the season.
While Whittingham has sympathy for the Blues’ injury woes, the former Fratton favourite has called on the rest of Mousinho’s squad to step up to the mark.
‘You’re a manager of a football club and you’ve had a good run at it. You’ve got promoted, you did well last year.
‘They looked like they’ve got a side that was not just capable of staying in the league but finishing higher than last season.
‘But I have to say, when you get injuries to your key players it gives you real problems.
‘Yes they did bring the players in that are playing at the moment but they're just not doing it for him or the team at the moment. I think Bowat is short, Knight as well.
‘Maybe you look at the game in midweek and get a draw against Wrexham so you would go with same shape. Was it the right thing to do? Who knows.
‘But you put the players out there with less time to recover than Hull. You can’t deny they didn’t put a shift in it’s just decisions. Decisions on when to close down, how tight to get, how aggressive to be with opposition, that’s what it comes down to.’
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