Jackett explains attacking shake-up
KENNY
Jackett explained Pompey’s lack of firepower led to him shaking up his attacking options at Burton Albion.
The Blues boss made three changes, with Lee Brown coming in to replace Cam Pring at left-back.
But dropping Ronan
Curtis for Ryan Williams and replacing John Marquis with Ellis Harrison were the decisions which caused greater debate.
They were calls which reaped dividends for Jackett, as Pompey produced their best attacking performance in the league this year.
Harrison in particular gave his side another dimension and the link-up between Pompey’s attacking quartet in Jackett’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation caught the eye.
Marquis was taken out of the firing line after five games without a goal, and a return of one in 12 since last season.
Curtis’ form early in the campaign has failed to hit the levels Pompey hoped for from a player rated as one of their prized assets.
Jackett challenged Marquis and Curtis to show the strength needed to get back into the equation.
He said: ‘We haven’t got the goals yet so it was right to change it around I felt.
‘We have a good squad and, for them anyway, they will just have to stay strong.’
Jackett pointed out both Curtis and Marquis contributed to Pompey’s win with their efforts after being introduced in the second half.
And he told the pair they will soon get opportunities to stake their claim once again.
Jackett added: ‘Ronan came on and I thought that he played well.
‘Even in a 10-minute cameo at the end, John worked hard to keep us in a winning position.
‘Their time will come again and they just have to remain patient because they’re a big part of what we’re doing here.’