Danny Cowley reveals Portsmouth reserve team and academy plans

And the Blues boss hinted the club will need to blend that process with recruiting young emerging talent from other clubs.

Cowley stated he wants Pompey to work towards having an under-23 or B team moving forward.

But he feels the priority for now has to be on seeing young players emerge through the ranks and into his first-team set-up.

Last year saw Pompey not hand any senior deals to their scholars, although Harry Jewitt-White and Toby Steward have been handed contracts while Alfie Bridgman and Dan Gifford have become third-year scholars.

When asked if the Blues will introduce a reserve team in his Q&A with The News, Cowley said: ‘It’s something we’d like to work towards as a football club.

‘Firstly we have to get the academy to a place where we are producing our own players and we’re getting enough through the academy who’ve got a chance of becoming a professional footballer - and a successful professional footballer.

‘We have to make sure we have that conveyor belt, and we need to make sure we have a facility that can cater for it and the finance to run that B or reserve team.

‘I know Greg Miller is working relentlessly hard to improve the academy.

‘We’ve still got a long way to go and there’s no hiding place from that.

‘But we’re making progress day by day.

‘Once we’ve got that in place I think we will be able to find a place with regard to facilities to cater for that type of team.’

Cowley acknowledged Pompey will need to work differently to some of their rivals with superior academy facilities in the short and medium term.

And that means continuing with the policy of signing players from category one academies where possible.

That was seen this week as Zak Swanson arrived from Arsenal as Pompey’s second summer signing.

Cowley added: ‘I always think with our academy, when you are a category three academy you have to work differently from the category one academies - otherwise you come second.

‘You just have to look at their finance and their human resources and facilities - it’s impossible to compete.

‘You have to try to find a different model and way, whether that’s a different way in terms of recruitment or different way in terms of training methodology.

‘You have to find a different and unique way.

‘That’s what we did at Lincoln and if you look at their squad now, they have players going to that 50-game tally I think you need before you can say you’re a professional footballer.

‘So I think that’s been successful.

‘There’s a lot of good players from Portsmouth.

‘We can look back if we want but we need to put our energy in looking forward and finding a way.’