Mousinho has to drop Pack after what he did in Portsmouth v Plymouth
John Mousinho must consider dropping Marlon Pack from his starting XI for Portsmouth’s next Championship game against Preston.
Fratton Park welcomed relegation battlers Plymouth Argyle on Wednesday night in a game which ended 2-1 in the Pilgrims’ favour.
None of Mousinho’s men were really up to scratch and even though Adil Aouchiche clawed back a consolation goal for Pompey in the dying embers, it still wasn’t enough to brighten the spirits of fans.
Pack was taken off in the 55th minute, presumably due to his poor performance, and played a role in stopping Pompey from adding a fifth win in their last six games.
Pack risks his starting spot for Portsmouth
Pack has been a solid performer for Mousinho this term, but his performance against Plymouth was well below par.
He was caught flat-footed multiple times and even though Mousinho loves him, it could be time for the 33-year-old to get dropped to the bench.
As per Sofascore, in the 55 minutes the defender was on the pitch, he had 94 touches of the ball and only won 50 per cent of the ground duels he attempted.
He may have maintained a pass accuracy of 90 per cent throughout the game, but the fact he lost the ball nine times shows how poor his overall performance was.
Pack also only made two clearances and one tackle in the entire time that he was on the pitch.
In the game, he also attempted 12 long balls with only eight of them making it to their intended targets.
Of course, this could just be a one-off performance, but based on the statistics, axing the defender against Preston on Saturday (15 March) seems to be the right call.
Portsmouth should be able to retain their Championship status
Even though they may have lost to Plymouth on Wednesday, they should still have more than enough points to stay in the second tier.
Pompey’s recent purple patch of form is to thank for this with Mousinho’s men putting in some outstanding performances recently.
| Team | Position | Points |
| Portsmouth | 17th | 42 |
| Hull City | 18th | 40 |
| Stoke City | 19th | 39 |
| Oxford United | 20th | 39 |
| Cardiff City | 21st | 36 |
| Derby County | 22nd | 35 |
Pack has been a constant figure in Portsmouth’s team this term but if Alexander Milosevic is fit, it could be worth him getting dropped, even if it’s just to give him a rest.
Only time will tell what Mousinho chooses to do but on paper, the best move could be to drop the Englishman so that Portsmouth can try and get back to winning ways.