Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho says defender Tom McIntyre still has a future at the club despite his deadline day loan move.
McIntyre has found himself out of the team at Fratton Park of late with the hierarchy at Portsmouth sending him on loan to Charlton Athletic for first-team minutes.
The 26-year-old only returned from a long injury lay-off in September and played ten consecutive games but has struggled for consistent minutes since then, and has not featured for Pompey since they lost 4-0 to fellow strugglers Derby County in the middle of December. With some good performances under his belt, Mousinho and Portsmouth were keen for McIntyre to develop elsewhere so have sent him down a division to Nathan Jones’ Charlton.
Speaking to The News, Mousinho said, “My big challenge to Tom would be to play as many games as you can at Charlton between now and the end of the year, come back unbelievably fit in pre-season and make sure you’re ready and you are at it, competing for a spot.
“That doesn’t mean he no longer has a future at Pompey, not at all, that’s why we wanted to loan him out.
“When you’ve had that amount of time off, you need minutes, you need to play football, you need to get back to the very minimum of the physical peak which we know Tom can get to.
“It’s up to Tom to go and prove himself.”
McIntyre leaves for a Charlton Athletic side going well in League One, currently sitting in 7th, outside the play-offs on goal difference. Addicks fans will be hoping he can recapture some of his best and most consistent form to help the team up the table, and allow the player the chance to develop his career, either at Pompey or elsewhere.
Writer’s View
This is a move that makes sense. McIntyre has struggled to get himself back in the Pompey side and needs minutes, while Pompey need results. A move to Charlton will allow for that and boos the Addicks as they go for promotion. Whether McIntyre starts next season at Portsmouth or elsewhere remains to be see, but this is the best decision for all parties.
