The heights new Portsmouth boss believes he can help Marcus Harness reach THIS season

New Pompey head coach, Danny Cowley, believes the winger can hit as many as 10 league goals under his stewardship across the rest of the campaign.

Harness ended a whopping 22-game barren run with a decisive ninth goal of this term in the 2-1 win over Ipswich – his sixth on League One duty,

Cowley has no doubt about the class of the 25-year-old and his capabilities.

And across a run which could reach 15 games if the play-off finals are reached, the 42-year believes Harness can hit double league figures.

He said: ‘He’s a top player, a really good player.

‘I love the way he moves and I think he’s bright and intelligent.

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‘He’s good in one v one moments and he’s got good end product.

‘Crossing on the run is a dying art in football, but he can do that.

‘He’s got the ability to score goals and I expect double figures from him. I think he can give us double figures.

‘It’s great to work with him and we’re just going to try to help him, by getting him the ball quicker.

‘That’s what we’re going to try to do.

‘Then we’re going to try to keep working on our combinations to help him create and score more goals.’

Cowley believes injecting confidence into Harness and his Pompey team-mates has to be an area of focus over the coming days, as he detailed how he plans to get belief flowing through the ranks.

He added: ‘Confidence is a really important commodity for a footballer.

‘How do you nurture confidence? Personally, if I feel competent I feel confident.

‘So if you train intelligently and hard you’ll feel competent, and then naturally you’ll feel confident to achieve the outcome.

‘We know if players are confident they will perform their best.

‘I actually feel we provide an environment where it’s safe and secure so they can be themselves.

‘When they can be themselves, you then start to get the best of them.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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