Josh Murphy delivers message to Portsmouth FC supporters after West Brom loss | OneFootball

Murphy took to Instagram to connect with Pompey fans after their defeat to West Brom

Portsmouth forward Josh Murphy has taken to his Instagram account to deliver a positive message to supporters after he made his competitive debut for the club against West Brom on Sunday.

The 29-year-old joined Pompey as a free agent in June after rejecting a new deal with fellow second-tier new boys Oxford United, but suffered an ankle injury in a pre-season friendly against Charlton Athletic a week before the Championship campaign began, and has had to wait to recover before making his league bow.

He was handed a start on the left-wing by John Mousinho as the Baggies made the trip to Fratton Park yesterday, and was substituted just after the hour mark as Carlos Corberan's side ran out 3-0 victors, but still had praise for his new home faithful after the game.

Josh Murphy has praised Pompey fans after his debut

The forward is no stranger to taking to his Instagram account to connect with fans, and prior to his newest update, he had already posted twice since he joined Pompey despite being injured for the last month.

It is clear that, despite a disappointing result in his first outing for the Blues, Murphy is optimistic about their chances of success this season under new boss Mousinho.

Portsmouth won promotion at a canter as champions of League One under the 38-year-old last season, but have struggled so far to apply similar form in the second-tier, albeit against some notably tough opposition in their first five league games of the campaign.

They are yet to win a game so far, and so sit 23rd in the table as a result, but have drawn three of their opening five outings, with valuable points picked up away to Leeds United and Middlesbrough and at home against Luton, followed up by losses against Sunderland and then West Brom.

Mousinho will hope for an improvement in his side's form soon, and the return of summer signing Murphy will be a big boost to his attack going forward.

Murphy can become a key player for Pompey this season

It came as a surprise to many that Murphy decided to turn down a new deal with Oxford at the end of last season, especially after he had single-handedly fired them to the Championship with a quickfire brace against Bolton Wanderers to win the play-off final in May.

He has certainly previously proven that he can thrive in the second-tier, when given the opportunity, and so it was then regarded as a coup for Portsmouth to have secured his services over their fellow promotion-winners, but he has had a less-than-ideal start to life on the south coast so far.

Murphy's injury issues have seen him miss out on the first four games of the campaign, but he is now back fit and will be raring to go to help fire Mousinho's side up the table and away from the bottom three.

Most of the 29-year-old's career experience has come in the second-tier, and the outing against the Baggies was his 200th Championship game so far, so it is clear that he has the pedigree needed to become a mainstay in the Pompey starting eleven for the foreseeable future over the likes of Sam Silvera and Paddy Lane.

If he is given time and opportunities to get up to full match fitness, then there is no doubt that he can be one of Mousinho's key men this season as they look to avoid the drop.