Pompey Speaks On Centre-Half  Changes Ahead Of Blackburn Visit To Fratton Park

Alexander Milosevic is in line to become the latest in a long line of players this season to appear in the centre of Pompey’s defence when the Blues welcome Blackburn to Fratton Park on Saturday.

With a number of centre halves out of action, Pompey have signed the free agent for the remainder of the campaign but it has taken him a couple of weeks to work up his fitness and be ready for the cut and thrust of the Championship.

Now it appears likely Milosevic could make his debut against Rovers alongside Regan Poole.

Marlon Pack has been used next to Poole in recent games, although Connor Ogilvie took over there at Preston last time out.

With eight games left Pompey still need points to make sure they stay clear of the bottom three – with the gap between them and the top spot in the drop zone just four points – where it was 10 points after the win over Leeds.

Pompey have four games at home and four away and defensive resilience is going to be key to getting results.

Speaking recently about the Swedish international, Mousinho told The News: ‘I felt we were short on centre-backs, so we needed to explore the options. I didn’t want to take Alexander for the sake of it, but we very quickly whittled the list down to the best four or five and Alexander was at the top of the list.

‘He’s played this season but a different season in Sweden, which finished in November. It’s never going to be perfect with free agents, but he’s got relatively recent playing experience, keeps himself fit and is pretty much ready to slot straight in.

‘We’ve got up until the end of the international break to get him going – we should have him then.

‘Alexander has played in this country before with Nottingham Forest for a spell. He’s a full Swedish international with nine caps and he’s had a really good career. He’s a commanding centre-half, in terms of his physical presence, leads the line well and has captained AIK recently.

‘So he has a wealth of experience in terms of career, is decent on the ball and a very good defender. I think he will fit in very well.’