Pompey have not finished their summer squad rebuild yet - perhaps not by some considrable margin. But it is still likely to be a new-look team who run out for the first game of 2026-27, Saturday's first round Carabao Cup tie at West Ham.

Half a dozen new recruits could be in the matchday squad as John Mousinho looks for a positive start to the new campaign - albeit in a competition which is well down Pompey's list of priorities for the season.

The head coach told the Pompey website: 'It’s a tough draw against a massive club who are expected to go straight back up to the Premier League. They only recently won a European trophy and we’re going away to play in front of a huge crowd, so it's a big challenge.

'We want to try to progress as far we can in the competition and will be fielding a full-strength side – we’re looking to give a good account of ourselves. The away support we’re getting is going to be excellent and hopefully we can give our fans a good afternoon in the capital.

'I anticipate the squad looking a bit different by the time we get to the end of August, but we’ve had some decent preparation for the new campaign.

'You should never judge results in pre-season, although I’m pleased with the work we’ve done over the summer so far. The acid test is going to be how we show up in this game at West Ham and then the first league fixture against QPR.'

Franco Umeh, Harvey Blair and Josh Murphy are the latest injury worries at the end of a pre-season which has been plagued by more woes in that department.

Photo: Action Images via Reuters