The South Africa international was omitted from the Bafana Bafana squad as they qualified for the World Cup, but, as John Mousinho explains, that’s good news for Pompey.
Luke Le Roux is primed to return to Championship action with destructive intensity after his international snub.
John Mousinho believes the new South African international is now at the required levels following a period spent with his club side, in the wake of being overlooked for World Cup-qualifying duty.
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Mousinho on Le Roux: ‘I think he needed it’
The £1m signing from Swedish outfit Varnamo didn’t make the Bafana Bafana squad for fixtures against Zimbabwe and Rwanda, as they made it to next year’s finals in North America. That gave Le Roux time at PO4 with his new club, however, a period Mousinho felt the midfielder required after a frantic few months in his career.
Mousinho said: ‘Luke wasn’t in the South Africa squad, so he’s been around for a couple of weeks which has done him the world of good. I think he needed it.
‘When we’ve had lads come in from foreign countries, they first of all have a different introduction to English football compared to joining from another English club.
‘You have to wait for international clearance, your work permit, you have to set up a bank account and sort your mobile phone. All these little things make it very different. Some things you don’t think about, but it takes a little while.
‘With Luke and Mark (Kosznovszky) they weren’t eligible to train for about a week because they didn’t have clearance, then they couldn’t play because of their work permits. These are the things which drag on and they need a bit of time to adjust.
‘They need to bring their belongings over, family and pets, all those sorts of things. It just takes a bit of time, so having Luke here adjusting and having another block of training has been great.’
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Mousinho on internationals not playing for countries: ‘It’s frustrating’.
Mousinho highlighted how international involvement for his Pompey players can provide obstacles for them to overcome, when it comes to being at their best in domestic action. As well as the obvious travel issues, especially with the club’s Australian contingent, a dip in training levels is a factor to consider in the head coach’s eyes.
That can be a cause of frustration for the Blues boss, especially when it’s married with his players not seeing time on the pitch. That was the case with Adrian Segecic in the last international brea, and Hayden Matthews this time around for Australia.
Mousinho added: ‘In the previous international break we had Hayden, Segs and Luke Le Roux going away – and not getting minutes.
‘It’s great that they’ve got that international recognition and been selected, but a lot of time in those international camps they don’t train as we’d train because those sides have got games.
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