Blues boss John Mousinho has admitted to some frustration over the midfielder and acknowledged the question marks hanging over him, after an underwhelming start to life at PO4.

The summer arrival from QPR was steady but far from spectacular, as he started the first five league games of the Championship campaign.

The 25-year-old then lost his place in the team but has returned in the past four games, with his form picking up in the process.

His performance against Preston showcased moments of dynamism not seen from Dozzell this term, with Mousinho now wanting to see more of the same from the former Birmingham City and Ipswich man.

Mousinho said: ‘I thought he was excellent on Tuesday night and I had absolutely no worries about leaving him on for 90 minutes against Preston.

‘There’s a slight frustration with Dozz that we see day in, day out how good he is. We just want to see a bit more of that on the football pitch – and it’s something we’ve spoken about.

‘My example of that where he nicks in front of the lad in the first half and you see that athleticism, drive and capability. He’s got that, he has that in his locker.

‘We don’t want him to just be a six who sits in there and dictates play with how technically good he is, which he can do. He’s also got a good nasty side to him as well and competes really well.

‘So we’re really pleased, because I know there would’ve been a few question marks around him earlier in the season.

‘We brought him out of the side and he didn’t have any complaints. He got on with, worked hard and has taken his opportunity.

‘I actually think it’s done him a lot of good since coming back into the side.’

‘That’s the challenge to Dozz – to take a really good Championship career to the next level.

‘That’s kicking on in the Championship and driving us on to a better league position – and going on from there. We know he has that capability and that’s the thing we need to keep on top of.’

Dozzell’s display against QPR represents a high watermark in his Pompey career, as he broke forward a number of times from his role anchoring midfield. That led to Mousinho leaving the out-of-contract signing on for 90 minutes, as the end of three starts in eight days.

Mousinho added: ‘He should take encouragement that when we made the change in the middle of the park, there was no reason to bring him off. Freddie Potts had a really good game, but I just thought he tired. So we left Dozz on because he was doing a really good job.’