Ian Darke makes brutal transfer admission amid gloomy Portsmouth relegation verdict
Portsmouth have to face the “brutal truth” that several of their summer signings are not good enough amid a “gloomy” outlook on relegation from the Championship, Ian Darke has said.
The TV commentator and Blues fan admits Pompey need “oven-ready” players arriving in January to move away from serious relegation threat.
Darke, speaking exclusively to Pompey News, hopes John Mousinho’s side can take confidence from the weekend’s 3-1 win over Preston [9 November], the first at Fratton Park this term but feels their extensive summer recruitment drive didn’t quite hit the mark.
“It has looked gloomy for the most part. There has been a resigned feel among many of the fans that the team isn’t good enough and are destined to go straight back down, which would be very sad considering all the work it took to get back to the second tier,” he said.
“The brutal truth is that not many of the signings have come off; though some have – Freddie Potts in midfield has been excellent. They’re going to need to improve fairly dramatically with another 40 points at least.
“There hasn’t been anyone really crashing the door down to say ‘put me in this team’ and it’ll all be different. With Pompey in the relegation zone, you hope it wouldn’t gnaw away at confidence. The club need some oven-ready Championship players.”
Portsmouth aim for momentum from Preston win
The danger illustrated by the points made by Darke there is that Portsmouth are unable to take advantage of momentum following the victory over Preston, as they failed to do after winning at QPR.
Pompey’s unpredictability has proven their own undoing at times this season, as the team work towards back-to-back wins after the international break against Blackburn Rovers [23 November].
The Blues signed 14 senior players over the summer to mixed effect, and January activity will be anticipated to be vital.
In other Portsmouth news, Sam Hudson lauds his Under-18 team after what they achieved.
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