‘Maybe a bit of improvement’: Portsmouth boss John Mousinho’s Luke Le Roux stance after Sheffield United cameo
Luke Le Roux came off the bench in the final 10 minutes of Pompey’s defeat to Sheffield United on Saturday afternoon.
John Mousinho has insisted Luke Le Roux has got to ready when called upon after a tough cameo against Sheffield United on Saturday.
And the head coach has opted against putting the sole blame on the midfielder for the Blades’ 90th-winner at Fratton Park.
It’s been a frustrating maiden campaign in English football for the 25-year-old following his £1m arrival from IFK Varnamo.
Le Roux has featured 10 times in the Championship for the Blues this term - of which four have come from the start.
But the summer signing appeared to lose goalscorer Andre Brooks at the back post, with the winger eventually slotting home into an empty net.
Indeed, Mousinho has opted against putting the blame on Le Roux and instead identified a host of mistakes from his side in the build-up to the goal.
And the head coach has stressed the nine-cap international has got to bide his time and be ready when called upon as injuries to his side continue to mount.
John Mousinho’s Luke Le Roux stance
He told The News: It was a tough game to come on to, really intense.
‘Luke did some good bits and ultimately there is maybe a bit of improvement in certain moments. Luke’s got to bide his time and then make sure when he comes on he’s ready to go. It was a difficult one.
‘I know he was marking Brooks at the back post. When that ball gets cut to the byline, Luke’s made that decision to maybe cut off the cut back.
‘We’ve spoken to the players in general about how many mistakes we probably made in the build up to the goal. We can always look and isolate one single moment but it was a series of mistakes before that.
‘We need to be better as a side so it doesn’t get there.’
Who could play in midfield in Andre Dozzell’s absence?
Amongst those missing out will be Dozzell, who sustained an ankle injury in the closing stages on Saturday and was replaced by Le Roux.
The 26-year-old has been an ever-present in the engine room for the Blues this term, with his sole absence coming in December as he served a one-game ban.
Marlon Pack, Le Roux and Zak Swanson can all slot in alongside Ebou Adams this evening, while John Swift is likely to feature in the number 10 role due to injuries to Conor Chaplin and Adrian Segecic.
When asked about his current midfield options in Dozzell’s absence, Mousinho said: ‘I think if you look at the fact that we played Swifty in there at times this year, Marlon (Pack), Luke and probably Swanny (Zak Swanson) are the others that are in contention for that spot.’