Freddie Potts takes ‘enforced rest’ from Portsmouth side
Portsmouth have at times struggled as expected this Championship season, but are slowly emerging from the dark tunnel in their survival bid.
Freddie Potts, on loan from West Ham United having excelled at Wycombe Wanderers in League One last year, has been an impressive midfield performer when some players around him had dipped in form.
The 21-year-old, whose older brother Dan was also a Pompey player back in 2013, has taken to life at Fratton Park very well and proven his second-tier credentials.
Freddie Potts has missed past two games
Potts has missed the last two Portsmouth games with a calf injury, and the Blues have got the job done with wins over Cardiff City and Oxford United.
John Mousinho now has more depth with Isaac Hayden in the building and Andre Dozzell’s performances in a Portsmouth shirt improving.
Elsewhere, Marlon Pack is moulding into a fine option off the bench having served his time filling in as a temporary centre-half.
TV commentator and Blues fan Ian Darke, speaking exclusively to Pompey News, believes it is actually a benefit to Potts and his head coach that a rest has been enforced upon him.
“I think in the case of Freddie Potts, there’s a player who has played a lot of minutes, so his performances have dropped just a notch – not much, but just a notch,” Darke said.
“His enforced rest will do him good. It’s a chance for a player to recharge his batteries who has impressed this season and as a result stayed in the side.”
Portsmouth looking to extend winning run
Next up for Portsmouth is a home contest against QPR, who were the victims back in October of the first of just two away wins from Mousinho’s men this season.
Of course, the other came last Saturday (15 February) at the head coach’s former side Oxford, and this will hopefully instil some consistency both at Fratton Park and vitally on their travels for the business end of the campaign.
QPR have turned their season around of late and could even be considered outside challengers for the play-off race, which is as ever wide open in the Championship; the West Londoners sticking with Marti Cifuentes in a loyal move only replicated by Pompey with Mousinho, has paid dividends.
A trip to bottom side Luton Town beckons to begin March, before hosting top team Leeds United in a huge block of games to potentially go some way to sealing survival.