Zak Swanson has one thing to do at Portsmouth after official EFL announcement
Zak Swanson has been a regular starter for Portsmouth and played a crucial role in their shock result against Leeds United.
Despite the wretched start to the campaign that the Championship fixture list provided, Portsmouth appear to be on course to achieve survival and secure their status in the second division.
Their recent 1-0 victory at home to Leeds United provided them with a huge three points in their bid to achieve that, with Swanson one of the standout performers in the clash.
However, there is still one thing left for him to do at Fratton Park, and Pompey’s survival hopes may hinge on it.
Portsmouth need Swanson to maintain current form
With safety edging closer for Portsmouth, plenty of the pressure that comes with a relegation battle has been lifted from their shoulders, which, in turn, should see players start to play with a lot more freedom.
The EFL announced that Swanson was named in the Championship Team of the Week after the win at Leeds, and he simply needs to maintain that form until the end of the campaign.
More often than not, he has been a solid performer for John Mousinho’s side, but the occasional blip in form has seen him searching for that level of consistency to take his game to the next level.
| Portsmouth | Appearances | Tackles won | Duels won | Interceptions | Pass accuracy |
| Zak Swanson | 26 | 37 | 112 | 37 | 75.3% |
Based on current form, Portsmouth appear as though they are capable of beating just about anyone in this division, but their lack of ability to replicate these types of performances has been the main reason behind some of their struggles.
The win against the league leaders was a showcase as to how good this team can be on their day, and for Swanson, how good he can be when he is at the top of his game.
Mousinho can release the shackles at Portsmouth
With 10 games remaining, Portsmouth likely only need a couple of wins to secure their status in the Championship for the new campaign, though they may have done enough already.
That reduction in pressure means that Mousinho can perhaps experiment a little bit more with his team and have more fun when it comes to attacking each game.
As we saw against Leeds, this team has plenty of quality, and their position in the table may allow that to flourish even more.