Keene Returns To Fratton

Last updated : 10 January 2013 By Jim Bonner

James Keene has signed for the club he used to play for on a one-month loan deal from Elfsborg, the team he originally left Portsmouth to play for.

The 27-year-old had only previously played for Pompey in the two final games of the 2004/2005 season, a 1-1 draw at home to Bolton and the now famous 2-0 defeat to West Brom at The Hawthorns.

He is now likely to go straight into the squad for the home game against Notts County and may even start if Guy Whittingham and Andy Awford opt to play 4-4-2.

Keene had a respectable goalscoring record in Sweden but how the Swedish league compares to the dross of League One is anyone's guess. I hope James knows how to win those long, high balls into the box!

Keene isn't the only addition to the squad going into Saturday's game. Youngster Dan Butler has been recalled from his loan spell at Havant & Waterlooville and is likely to feature against the Magpies in some way.

It was also surprising to see Gabor Gyepes sign an extension to his loan deal, although there is a gentleman's agreement allowing him to leave at any time. In all honesty, he's not going to be here for the long term and Guy and Andy need to start blooding in the youngsters now. It could pay dividends in the future.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing has returned to Peterborough too but I doubt he'll be missed by many simply because of his inconsistency and his final ball was shocking. There is no point in using all that pace to carry the ball downfield if it ends up going straight back to the opposition or if it's sent sailing out of play.

At least with these latest squad changes the game on Saturday has become more interesting as it will be intriguing to see how the new faces blend into the team.

The end result is not likely to be any different, though.