Portsmouth FC need a spark - John Mousinho needs to repeat Kieran McKenna trick from Ipswich Town | OneFootball

Pompey should look to Conor Chaplin as the man to aid their goalscoring troubles

It has been a solid, if not spectacular, start to the Championship season for those of a Portsmouth persuasion, as the club looks to build on their previous season of consolidation.

After 12 years away from the second tier, it was imperative for John Mousinho and his side to avoid relegation at the first time of asking, as difficult as many believed it would be when comparing the financial resources on offer at Fratton Park in comparison to their 23 divisional rivals.

Since achieving the aforementioned short-term goal, progression has been the main buzzword on this part of the South Coast, and that has certainly been evident in the majority of early-season encounters for the Blues as we head towards the defining autumn and winter periods.

Aside from last weekend's surprise 2-0 defeat on home turf to a cash-strapped Sheffield Wednesday, Pompey have been a tough nut to crack, although that has, in no small part, been down to the strong performances of Nicolas Schmid, who is currently sidelined with a wrist issue sustained against local rivals, Southampton.

Meanwhile, the result and scoreline against the Owls were somewhat emblematic of the struggles Mousinho's men are enduring at the opposite end of the pitch, as they are currently the second tier's joint-second lowest scorers with four strikes, despite having a plethora of exciting and normally reliable attacking and creative options to call upon.

Last term, the Blues found the net 58 times in 46 games, with Colby Bishop hitting 11 goals in just 32 games after returning from open-heart surgery, whilst Josh Murphy ended the campaign as the division's joint-top assist maker alongside Tom Fellows with 14.

Such strong numbers were only added to by the signing of Adrian Segecic in the early stages of the summer transfer window, with the Australian netting 13 times and posting a further two assists in his final 24 league appearances for Sydney FC.

Pompey have emerged victorious twice so far this season, and both were by a one-goal margin against Oxford United and Preston North End, highlighting a need to boost their attacking numbers as a collective.

Fast-forward to the present, and after six games, Mousinho's side have averaged just 0.7 goals per game alongside Charlton Athletic — only Sheffield United have a lower total of 0.2.

That lack of cutting edge has also been personified by Bishop, who ranks second on the unwanted list of big chances missed in the division with five.

As the nation witnessed on live broadcast in the South Coast derby on September 14th, Pompey got into several promising areas, but have failed to make it count in recent outings, leaving Mousinho in need of a creative spark.

Luckily for the Pompey boss, that can certainly be provided if he can replicate the successful antics of Kieran McKenna at Ipswich Town.

Unsurprisingly, the one piece of business that stood out from the rest in this part of the world was the return of Conor Chaplin to his boyhood club on loan from the Suffolk side.

Portsmouth are, by far, a completely different club in terms of outlook to the one which the forward left in 2018 for Coventry City, whilst Chaplin has remained very much the same — a proven goalscorer within the EFL.

That certainly proved to be the case when McKenna came through the Portman Road door in December 2021, as Chaplin became integral to the Northern Irishman's unrelenting, front-footed style that saw Town blitz their way through League One and the Championship in successive seasons between 2022 and 2024.

Despite operating behind the main focal striker, the Worthing-born man scored 26 and 13 times during back-to-back promotion campaigns for the Tractor Boys, as well as posting several assists as McKenna's side scored a staggering 193 goals in 92 league encounters.

Of course, it would be ridiculous to suggest that Portsmouth will all of a sudden match such feats, but it highlights the sheer quality now at their disposal, on top of the well-documented sentiment behind the signing.

Given the fact Bishop is clearly getting in the right areas, Chaplin's composure on the ball adds an extra layer of top-quality service on top of Murphy's pre-existing services, which will be music to the ears of the ex-Accrington Stanley man, whose link up play, in turn, will provide a plethora of opportunities for the 28-year-old loanee to open his Pompey account for the second time.

It is an exciting prospect for those at Fratton Park to consider, and whilst Mousinho is far from under pressure, he will be hoping such relationships click into gear sooner rather than later.