Don Goodman: Portsmouth must strengthen both ends of pitch in January
Don Goodman says Portsmouth must wheel and deal in January to make them more defensively sound in the Championship
Pompey moved off the bottom of the league with their 3-0 win over Bristol City on 7 December with Colby Bishop providing the goods.
After losing Kusini Yengi to injury, Goodman says that more is also needed in the final third to get the balance right for John Mousinho in his squad.
Speaking exclusively to Pompey News, the EFL expert admitted it was no surprise to see Pompey struggling given their issues in key areas.
“It’s all about a balance isn’t it,” he said.
“Portsmouth have never had the balance quite right. Two 0-0 draws and that’s two of their only three clean sheets so they’ve clearly found it a real struggle to keep the ball out of their own net.
“I’ve always said this, I think when you get promoted the section of a team that will suffer the most is the defenders because they’re up against better forwards. Defenders will always find it harder or the hardest to bridge that gap so I’m not surprised that it’s been a struggle for Portsmouth.
“I do think January there has to be a little bit of wheeling and dealing and they are going to have to bring in players that will help make them a little more solid defensively and just give them a little bit more of a cutting edge going forward because clearly they are they are struggling at both ends of the pitch.”
Portsmouth needed to find that balance in January
Pompey currently sit 23rd in the Championship but have scored the most of the bottom six teams despite their issues with form and injuries.
Portsmouth have already been linked with attacking reinforcements with the Yorkshire Evening Post reporting their interest in Leeds United striker Joe Gelhardt.
To steer away from relegation, they will need to add more than just Gelhardt to their squad and all eyes will be on the January transfer window.
In other Portsmouth news, a finance expert has reacted to the club’s recent postponements.
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