Former Lincoln City captain Regan Poole could lose his place in the Portsmouth side for Saturday’s Championship fixture at Sincil Bank.
Pompey head coach John Mousinho is considering defensive changes after watching his team concede six goals across their opening two matches of the season. Poole has started both defeats alongside Conor Shaughnessy at the heart of the Portsmouth defence, with West Ham United and Queens Park Rangers each recording 3-1 victories.
Summer signing Benjy Arthur is pushing to replace either Poole or Shaughnessy, while goalkeeper Daniel Bielica provides an alternative to Nicolas Schmid. Mousinho has stressed that the defensive problems have not been limited to his back line, but admitted all six goals could have been avoided.
“Whether you concede three goals in short succession or whether you concede three goals over 90 minutes, if you concede three goals every game then you’re going to be in real trouble,” he said.
“It was the nature of the way we conceded them. I don’t look at those goals and think they weren’t preventable, they were all preventable.
“When you look back at any goal, there’s elements of really good play from the opposition, which you can’t do anything about. Clearly in those six goals you’ve got some good players doing good things, but we can defend those a lot better.”
Poole joined City from MK Dons in January 2021 and went on to make 130 appearances in all competitions, scoring four times. He was part of the Imps side which reached the League One play-off final during his first season and became an increasingly important figure at Sincil Bank over the following two campaigns.
The 28-year-old was named both Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season in 2021/22 before taking over as captain. City attempted to keep him at the end of his contract in 2023, but he opted to join Portsmouth after expressing a desire to play at a higher level.
Poole helped Pompey win the League One title in his first season at Fratton Park, although a serious knee injury limited him to 16 appearances in all competitions. He has since established himself in their Championship defence, but now faces competition for his place ahead of what could have been his first return to Sincil Bank as a Portsmouth player.
Mousinho refused to guarantee that Poole and the rest of his defence would retain their places, confirming that the entire team is under consideration.
“We are considering every single position at the moment. In a good way we do that every single game. Not just from a form point of view, but also from a game-to-game point of view.
“If you think things are going to suit our side better than maybe they did last week, we’ll pick a side which we think is capable of beating QPR, and is capable of beating Lincoln. I have done it many times in the past, even when we’ve won games.
“It’s always about the next game. Form does come into it, but it’s much more about who we think is in the best position to go at Lincoln.”
Pompey have fewer options at full-back, with Connor Ogilvie sidelined following a second knee operation. Zak Swanson is currently their only recognised left-back, while Terry Devlin is expected to continue on the right after scoring against QPR.
City welcome Portsmouth to Sincil Bank on Saturday, with kick-off at 12.30 pm. It’s the first meeting between the two since they ended our play-off push in 2024, and City will be looking for revenge.
The Imps are also looking for their first Championship points following last weekend’s late 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough.
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