‘He grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck’ - Danny Cowley hails Portsmouth winger after standout Oxford United display

The Blues boss also explained the key reason why he opted to start the winger ahead of regular Owen Dale.

The 24-year-old put in a man of the match performance in front of the Fratton faithful after he was rewarded with his third league start of the campaign.

After a promising personal first 45 minutes, Hackett was moved into the centre of midfield as Cowley looked to combat his side’s poor start to the contest.

Indeed, a fine bit of trickery and skill on the half way line saw him fouled by Billy Bodin, resulting in the U’s man picking up his second yellow card with 18 minutes to play.

Although the winger came off in added time through injury, the head coach believes people saw the best of the former Bromley man as he looks to cement his place in the starting XI.

‘I thought he was great,’ he told The News.

‘When he got the ball in the first half he looked a threat, I didn’t think we got the ball to him enough so we moved him into the middle and I thought he grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck.

‘I thought he showed all the quality that he’s got, he’s such a talented boy and it was his brilliant play and quick feet that got their player a second yellow. I thought he linked the play really well for us.

‘We changed the system, we went to a 4-3-3 so he played as an eight stroke 10 and played in the middle of the pitch.’

Hackett was one of two changes made by Cowley ahead of the game, with the winger surprisingly being chosen ahead of Dale.

The Blues boss revealed he needed to freshen up his attacking line-up with games coming up thick and fast.

He added: ‘We’ve got a good squad and we’ve got a real good belief in Reeco.

‘He trains well every single day and when the games come as thick and as fast as they are, it makes sense with the way that we play.

‘We want to play with a high energy, high intensity pressing game and you need to sometimes freshen the top end of the pitch to allow you to play the way you want to.’