New boss could bring fresh opportunities for midfielder left in cold under Jackett
BEN CLOSE is set to be given a new lease of life under the new Pompey regime.
And head coach, Danny Cowley, has backed the homegrown midfielder to benefit from being given a clean slate after his arrival.
Close once again made an impact coming off the bench against Ipswich on Saturday, in a similar vein to the manner he influenced the previous weekend’s Papa John’s Trophy final at Wembley when being introduced in the second half.
It’s been a tough season for the Southsea lad, however, after he was largely frozen out of a starting position under previous boss Kenny Jackett.
Cowley delivered an assessment of the 24-yearold which underlined he knows what he’s getting from him moving forward.
He said: ‘I like Ben, a really good player.
‘He trained really well when we came in.
‘It was really tight over the decision between him and Andy (Cannon).
‘Andygivesyousomuch energy and he’s so dynamic.
‘But Ben gives you different qualities.
‘What Ben gives you is that calmness, that positional intelligence and he’s a great interceptor, great anticipator and he reads the game really well.
‘He’s a really clean receiver of the ball and his body position to receive is always really good.
‘His range of passing is really good as well, so he has some good qualities for us.’
Despite just favouring Cannon on Saturday,
Cowley made it clear it is now a new beginning for the academy graduate.
He added: ‘He can (benefit from a clean slate), all of them can. We come in with no agenda.
‘I will pick what I see and I will try to help them all. ‘I will wake up every single morning with the target of trying to improve them all.’
Close has made 18 appearances across all competitions for Pompey so far this season, scoring the final goal in January’s 4-0 win at home to AFC Wimbledon and not picking up a single booking.
■ Pompey are looking at St Johnstone striker Guy Melamed. That’s according to website Football Insider, who claim the Blues have been monitoring the Israeli’s progress following his recent move from Maccabi Netanya.
The 28-year-old has scored five goals in 15 games for Callum Davidson’s side.
18
Ben Close has featured in 18 games in all competitions for Pompey this term