'We have faith': Portsmouth boss addresses Middlesbrough loanee's hugely disappointing Fratton Park stay
John Mousinho hasn’t lost faith in Sammy Silvera - and insists there’s still time for the winger to sparkle for Pompey.
The Australian has been tremendously disappointing to date, having arrived on season-long loan from Middlesbrough to much fanfare.
Silvera hasn’t started a Blues match since September, has been left out of Championship squads on occasions, while also lost his international place with the Socceroos after five caps.
The 24-year-old, who was a Pompey transfer target until beaten to his signature by Middlesbrough in 2023, was expected to add a creative edge to the newly-promoted side.
But the Blues head coach hasn’t given up on him.
He told The News: ‘Sammy picked up a minor injury - that’s what prevented him from travelling to Derby - and he hasn’t trained for the last couple of days.
‘But it’s a fair question because he hasn’t been in the starting line-up and he’s not been in a couple of squads.
‘The most important thing for Sammy is to train as well as he possibly can day in, day out, making sure he affects the group on a daily basis. Then, if and when he does come in, be ready to affect games.
‘What we’re looking for with Sammy - and with wingers in general - is that defensive reliability, particularly with the way we are trying to press. If you can make something happen off the back of that then certainly he will give himself a much better chance of playing.
‘I don't think he’s been disappointing. It has been a difficult season for everyone, to be honest. If you look at the output from all of our wingers, Murphy has a few goals, Matt (Ritchie) got his first at Swansea, while we are still looking for goals from plenty of other players across that frontline in particular.
‘It’s just the nature of the season. We have faith that Sammy will click into gear and he obviously needs to work hard on things.
‘He has been out of the side through various issues here and there, sometimes injuries, sometimes form.
‘There is an absolute minimum that we can rely on him to understand the press, we can rely on him to work out of possession and, ultimately, the big reason we brought Sammy in is for his quality.
‘If he can give us a bit more in terms of assists and goals, then he gives himself a chance.’
Silvera has made 11 appearances since arriving at Fratton Park, of which just four have come as Championship starts.
Although Mousinho expects the winger to see out his season-long loan rather than be called back early by Middlesbrough.
He added: ‘I think he’ll stay, there is no reason why he shouldn’t.
‘Sam is still in the infancy of his career at Pompey and it has probably not been exactly as he would have hoped, but there’s plenty of time left.’