Zak Swanson ‘concern’ emerges at Portsmouth after loss to West Brom
Zak Swanson wasn’t at the races for Portsmouth as John Mousinho’s side suffered a heavy defeat to West Brom last time out.
Off the back of two promising results against Middlesbrough and Stoke City, optimism levels were high prior to the West Brom game before crashing right back down after their heavy 5-1 defeat.
Swanson, who has been a regular in the Pompey team for large parts of the season, was comfortably one of the worst performers on the pitch against the Baggies and it leaves a concern to be had ahead of their clash with Millwall.
With Rob Atkinson named on the bench for the defeat, Swanson may find himself swapping places with the winter recruit as Pompey look to get back to winning ways.
Zak Swanson suffers for Portsmouth v West Brom
Swanson has often been a calm figure at the back for Pompey, but his display against the Baggies was far from that and it leaves a question to be answered about his inclusion in the next fixture.
According to FotMob, the 24-year-old won just 25 per cent of his ground duels while failing to compete for any in the air.
Of the two attempted tackles, neither resulted in Pompey coming away with possession, with the rest of his defensive stats from the hammering certainly leaving plenty to be desired.
Swanson made just one interception in the game and only two clearances, while being dribbled past on four occasions. Given the amount of defending the visitors had to do, that’s simply not good enough.
West Brom had a field day against Pompey with the whole backline – not just Swanson – unable to get near them.
Just seven defensive actions were recorded from Swanson in what was a very poor display.
With Atkinson on the bench, many will expect the recent arrival to be drafted straight back into the team with Millwall their next opponent.
In other Portsmouth news, Mousinho could make as many as five changes for the clash with Millwall.
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