John Mousinho has fingers crossed over Adrian Segecic at Portsmouth after ‘surprising’ development
Adrian Segecic sent a message to John Mousinho after coming off the bench to score Portsmouth’s equaliser against Watford on Wednesday.
The Australian attacker would have been disappointed to have been dropped for this match, even if his form had dropped in recent games for Portsmouth.
Still, he responded positively by scoring a trademark left-footed piledriver into the bottom corner after being introduced as a 63rd-minute substitute.
The goal ensured Portsmouth drew 2-2 with Watford and put an end to their short losing streak.
While the result is not the most positive for Pompey, it should instil a bit of extra confidence heading into a run of tricky October fixtures.
John Mousinho makes honest admission about Adrian Segecic’s Australia call-up
Mousinho was full of praise for Segecic after the Watford game, while also admitting that the 21-year-old had suffered a dip in form.
And in an interview with The News, he suggested it would be better for Segecic if he wasn’t called up for Australia during the international break.
He said: “Would I want him to be called up for Australia in the international break? Probably not considering he didn’t play last time and didn’t end up on the bench. It would be much better, from my point of view, for him to be here.
“I don’t know a huge amount about the Australian national squad, apart from having many of their players, and I was surprised he didn’t get a bit more involvement.”
Mousinho went on to suggest that Segecic’s long international flights, combined with the unforgiving nature of the Championship fixture list, might have played a role in his loss of form.
However, he backed his summer signing to shake off the cobwebs and continue providing a goalscoring threat for Pompey.
“Segs was brilliant in pre-season and really good going into the last international break. With attacking players, a dip is going to happen. Sometimes you see players right at the top of their game do it,” he said.
Segecic has to start for Portsmouth against Middlesbrough
It remains to be seen whether Segecic is called up for Australia during October’s international break. The squad won’t be announced for a few days.
Either way, Mousinho has no interest in ensuring Segecic is well rested for his international team. He has three points to play for against Middlesbrough on Saturday, and Segecic will surely be a favourite to start that match.
Segecic was far brighter for Portsmouth than Conor Chaplin, who he replaced from the bench. He was certainly better than John Swift, who served up another stinker in the ‘number 10’ role against Watford.
It wouldn’t therefore be a shock to see him take back his favoured central position against Middlesbrough on Saturday.
Middlesbrough currently top the Championship, so Portsmouth will need Segecic’s ruthlessness in front of goal to give themselves the best shot of claiming some points.
Enjoyed this article? Stay connected with all the latest Portsmouth news, updates, and behind-the-scenes content by following us on our new Instagram account – @pompeynews247