The man who can be Pompey's supersub
Friday, 24th Jan 2014 21:24 by pompey-fans.com staff

David Connolly may have to settle for a supersub's role as Pompey head to Morecambe looking for their first win of 2014.

The striker was instrumental in helping the Blues rescue a point when he came on at home to Mansfield a week ago. Now it looks like he may have to continue on the bench - from where Richie Barker thinks he can be effective.

Barker told The News: ‘I thought David Connolly was excellent against Mansfield and is a calming influence. He is clever. I thought he and Nicky Shorey looked like they were on the same wavelength as you would imagine from two players who had played in the Premier League.

‘It was a fantastic ball through to Ryan (Taylor), a good touch and a good finish for our goal. David was a link-up player. We played with two slightly deeper midfielders and asked him to be the link-up and I actually thought he did it really well.

‘Even at this level he is still bright and clever, his touch is fantastic and his awareness was excellent. If you had watched the last half-an-hour of that game and had to pick two players who had played in the Premier League you would pick David and Nicky.

‘In terms of starting, at the moment we probably just need a bit of legs. Jake and Ryan give us that but we have got options now. We have got the cleverness and goals of David. We’ve got the legs of Jake and Ryan and obviously the power, strength and touch of Patrick.’

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