‘Frustrated’: Big Portsmouth favourite tasked with emerging from Fratton battle
He’s one of the Fratton Faithful’s big favourites, but Championship starts have been hard to come by. John Mousinho today discusses Terry Devlin’s position.
John Mousinho acknowledged Terry Devlin’s Fratton consternation at a lack of playing time.
But the Pompey boss is adamant the versatile Northern Ireland remains a key figure in his Championship squad.
‘Frustration’ for big Fratton favourite
And the Blues head coach feels Devlin remains ahead of the curve in terms of his Fratton education, two years into his Fratton stay.
The 21-year-old is today dealing with the disappointment of not making his country’s squad for their 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Slovakia, after being named in the 28–man group for their fixture last night and Monday’s clash with Germany.
Pompey league starts have also been hard to come by this term, with all of Devlin’s six Championship appearances coming off the bench. Mousinho acknowledged that will be a frustration for the former Glentoran man, but highlighted Devlin has made excellent progress with 68 Pompey appearances and 40 second-tier outings to date.
Mousinho said: ‘Probably if you ask Terry, he would’ve been frustrated not to start more games this year, which is fine. I absolutely want him to be champing at the bit to start as many games of football as he can.
‘In terms of his Pompey career, we definitely brought Terry in as one for the future. We thought he could develop knowing in his Portsmouth career he’ll future in a huge amount of squads.
‘He came into the fold in his first season and scored his first goal at Reading. He was a really important part of that League One squad. He didn’t start that many games, he probably only started a handful of games but made a contribution to us winning the league.
‘Then, all of a sudden, he really burst on to the scene in terms of the amount of games he played and started. It was far ahead of the progression we thought he’d have.
‘From where we signed him, he was starting games out of position in the Championship and doing really well. After that, I feel he’s kicked on again. He’s been really impressive.
‘We’ve been bringing him on for his energy and endeavour going forward, and his crossing ability is really good as well.
‘I think Terry is far ahead of where we’d expect him to be, but in terms of where he wants to be, he’s probably behind because he wants to be starting every Championship game. We want him to push towards that as well.’
Mousinho on Devlin: ‘He would’ve snapped your hand off.’
Despite not nailing down a Pompey starting space, the regularity with which Mousinho turns to Devlin to impact Championship games shows how he’s trusted by his boss. The fact he’s now probably seen primarily as a right-back has also thrown him into competition with two established operators in that department, in the shape of Zak Swanson and Jordan Williams.
Mousinho added: ‘It’s a tough one for T. He’s probably the first name on the team-sheet, but it’s in the substitute’s column.
‘He wants to upgrade that to being the starter, and the more he does what he does off the bench the closer he becomes to making that happen.
‘Also his best position has probably morphed into right-back and we have three really good players there, so he has a job on his hands there. He just has to keep working and keep his head down
‘He’s in the Northern Ireland squad, which is positive. If you’d said to Terry, two years after you signed you’d be playing Championship football, have those Championship appearances under your belt and be in the Northern Ireland squad, I’m pretty sure he would’ve snapped your hand off.’