Gaffer For A Day: Stoke brought Portsmouth down to their level - but what do we do with Conor Chaplin?

Firstly, are you Lewis Bruzon or Gibraltar Monkey?

I’m Lewis! Monkey has only been coming to Fratton Park for a couple of years, although he’s passionate and does get disappointed with results. When he’s angry, he stares at things quietly, he doesn't move.

Basically, I left North End for Gibraltar in 2003 and wanted a link when I came over to watch Pompey games. Monkeys roam in Gibraltar, so I thought of getting a mascot along those lines for a bit of fun.

I travel back here every weekend I can. In terms of forthcoming games, I’ve flights booked for Wrexham and am going to Hull as well.

People seem to like Gibraltar Monkey, I had a few on Saturday asking for photos with him. It’s not supposed to offend anyone, it’s just a bit of a laugh. We don’t need to have seriousness all the time.

So how do you both assess the game?

We struggled after conceding that Stoke goal, heads dropped and that was the end of it. We never looked like equalising.

It was an average performance and Stoke also had a part to play in that, they brought us down to their level of football, which made it harder for us.

We sprang to life in the second half and it was all looking good, it just didn’t quite work out in the end after we conceded that goal through Hayden Matthews’ mistake.

I thought a goalless draw would have been a fair result in that match. I don’t actually think we deserved to win it, but we didn’t deserve to lose it either.

Who was your man of the match?

Mackenzie Kirk gave the team a different dimension, so gets my vote. It was actually going to be Matthews, but he put the ball into the goal at the wrong end.

Kirk offered a bit more space, pushing on persistently, and gave Stoke more to think of at the back rather than just Colby Bishop chasing - and it made the press work a lot better.

The only downside was he couldn't put the ball into the goal. The team created chances for him, but he just couldn’t put it away.

Kirk hasn’t had as much time on the pitch as others and I think he’ll come good if he's playing regularly.

What are your thoughts on the Conor Chaplin situation?

What do we do with him? I don’t know whether he’s better out on the right, down the middle or deeper being pushed on.

He’s got better with each game, so I’m wondering if it might be an idea to give Bishop a break and put Kirk up front with Chaplin behind.

It’s fair to say Pompey aren’t getting the best out of him. He’s trying too hard and putting himself under pressure. His passes are just a little too far forward, but against Stoke he had a better game.

It’s difficult to be disappointed with Chaplin, I was so happy when he came back to the club. He’s got that ability, he will come good. It’s still early in the season, we’ve been unfortunate as well, picking up injuries at the wrong time.

Josef Bursik - 6

Jordan Williams - 6 (Terry Devlin - 6)

Hayden Matthews - 7

Regan Poole - 7

Connor Ogilvie - 7

Marlon Pack - 7

Andre Dozzell - 7

Conor Chaplin - 7

Colby Bishop - 6

Minhyeok Yang - 7 (Josh Murphy - 6)

Makenzie Kirk - 7

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