'Spectacularly failed' - the verdict on Portsmouth loanee Tyler Walker who will return to Coventry as a Fratton Park disappointment

That is the verdict of News reporter Sam Cox, who believes the Coventry striker has in no way matched expectations during his time at Fratton Park.

The 25-year-old joined in January on loan until the end of the season but is yet to show why Danny Cowley put so much faith in him.

The forward was identified as the answer to Pompey’s goalscoring problems, with the PO4 outfit wiling to sacrifice another January recruit to land the Championship player.

Despite a bright debut against AFC Wimbledon, the former Lincoln man has managed to find the net just once in 15 league outings for the Blues, with his only goal coming against recently relegated Crewe.

And his woes have continued, having been overlooked for the past three games following a poor showing in the 1-0 defeat to Cheltenham.

With only three games remaining of the current campaign, it now appears too late for Walker to win over the Fratton faithful.

That, therefore, guarantees the misfiring forward leaving the Blues without making the sort of impact many fans had been anticipating.

Speaking in the latest Pompey Q&A, Cox said: ‘Tyler Walker arrived in January on quite substantial wages in comparison to some of the players in the squad and he was the man tasked to resurrect Pompey’s front-line and fire them into the play-off reckoning.

‘For some reason it just hasn’t worked out and I don’t want to sound too harsh but he has spectacularly failed.

‘He came down from the Championship, has pedigree of scoring in League One, has pedigree of scoring under Danny Cowley while at Lincoln and he hasn’t cut it.

‘He’s scored one goal since his arrival which came against Crewe, who were all but relegated at the time.

‘He had to be there to score it, but his demeanor on the pitch hasn’t clicked and you sometimes feel sorry for him at times.

‘It all came to fruition at Cheltenham in the 1-0 defeat, he was given the chance to start by Danny Cowley but he didn’t take it.

‘It just shows that worrying trend of Pompey number nines, and despite replacing John Marquis, he has scored considerably less than the 29-year-old has for Lincoln in the time they both swapped over.

‘Unfortunately for Walker, he has been one that will be easy to forget by the end of the season.’