'Pretty unfair': Portsmouth boss' disappointment after travelling faithful turn on struggling Middlesbrough loanee
Chants of ‘Send him back, send him back’ were directed at Sammy Silvera by some of the Pompey travelling faithful at Ashton Gate.
Yet John Mousinho is adamant no individual player should be singled out for criticism following Pompey’s dismal 3-0 defeat - with the entire team culpable.
The Middlesbrough loanee was handed a first start since the end of September - and first outing in eight matches - when he lined-up on the left wing against Bristol City.
The Australian international has struggled to shine during a hugely disappointing Fratton Park spell, culminating in some fans among the 3,333 away following turning on him in the 55th minute.
And just nine minutes later, the 24-year-old was replaced by Josh Murphy and headed straight back to the changing rooms.
Mousinho told The News: ‘I hear the support the fans give us. For any individuals that copped it at Bristol City, I think that’s pretty unfair (on Silvera). You can look at the whole XI and be critical of them all.
‘Do you know what, I actually thought that Sammy had some really sharp moments in the first half, although I will have to have a look at the game and go over it.
‘Rather than speaking in the heat of the moment, I will watch the game back and then see what I think after that.
‘You always naturally look at the changes that we make and off the back of a really good performance on Boxing Day, sometimes you can point the finger of blame.’
Silvera, Owen Moxon, Paddy Lane and Terry Devlin came into the side against the Robins, with Zak Swanson, Callum Lang, Freddie Potts and Murphy surprisingly dropped to the bench.
During the gruelling festive period, Mousinho opted to freshen up his side by omitting them from his starting XI - and the outcome was falling 3-0 behind after 35 minutes.
He added: ‘I didn’t actually think that (the changes) was the issue in the first half.
‘Frustratingly, there were times during the game when we played some good football, we didn’t have quite enough cutting edge in the final third, didn’t land enough second balls and didn’t compete well enough.
‘As I look at it now, in the cold light of day straight after the game, I don’t look at that and think the changes we made were the problem with the performance.’