Latest news with #Mousinho
BBC News
03-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Everyone can be proud'
Portsmouth boss John Mousinho has said that everyone at the club "can be proud" after a successful season in the Championship.A draw against Hull City on Saturday marked the end of their first season back in the second tier since 2012. In his first full season in management, Mousinho won the league One title, and in the second, his side secured a 16th placed finish in the were confirmed as safe with two games to spare, and ended the season with some strong results. "It was important to stay unbeaten towards the back end of the season and five unbeaten is a good return." Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent. "The performance today was awful for 20 minutes but I guess some of it can be expected."The progress this season is a really good sign of where we are as a club and a fantastic achievement - everyone can be very proud of what we have done."But football doesn't wait for anyone, we have to go again, but for now we can take a break from the relentlessness."
BBC News
30-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Pompey player contract talks next week
Portsmouth are planning talks with out-of-contract players next John Mousinho says he will not tell players of any decisions about their futures until after Saturday's final Championship game of the season at home to Hull City (12:30 BST)."We've had a couple of meetings this week with players who are in contract but we didn't want to distract any of the out-of-contract players because it's unfair before the weekend," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent."Any conversations we've had this week have been very straightforward and any of the ones which take more care and diligence we'll do on Monday."Defenders Zak Swanson and Cohen Bramall are two of the first-team players whose deals are due to expire at the end of the season, although Pompey do retain an option to extend Swanson's contract. Mousinho admits they have not made final decisions on everyone's future."We're still mulling over a few things and we have a couple of meetings on Friday with the board where we want to check things first before we make any decisions," he added."The conversations where you're letting players go aren't great but there's a lot of reward when you give a new contract but ultimately they're not nice conversations a lot of the time because you're talking about people's livelihoods so you have to tread carefully."
BBC News
25-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Portsmouth stuck with Mousinho - and it has paid off
Portsmouth boss John Mousinho says the club could have changed managers during the season after some poor away defeats, but chose to stick with the 38-year-old, who signed an extension on his long-term contract in side have not been comfortable on the road this season, winning just three games compared with 15 of their heaviest defeats include a 4-0 defeat at Derby County in December, and a 6-1 humbling at Stoke City in Derby and Stoke are beneath Pompey in the Championship table and in threat of relegation."Let's not beat around the bush - there were times this season where they could have looked at some of those heavy away defeats and thought, well, maybe that's the time to change," Mousinho told BBC Radio the club's loyalty appears to have been the right Englishman guided Portsmouth to securing a second season in the Championship on Monday when Colby Bishop scored the winner in their 1-0 victory over Watford, as well as earning the adoration of the fans.
BBC News
23-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'There will be more money available'
Portsmouth boss John Mousinho has said they will "add to the budget" next season and there will be more "money available" for them to spend on the playing squad. With safety confirmed in the Championship for another season having worked with one of the smallest budgets in the division, Mousinho has already shared his desire for the club to establish themselves in the second tier. "There's some exciting plans in place in terms of moving forward in the Championship," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent."We're not going to be anywhere near the biggest spenders in the league but we're going to add to the budget and there will be more money available which will be great."We have to be ambitious and build, just staying in the Championship has given us half a chance of doing that, my overall feeling is one of excited as to where we can go as a club."Despite the encouraging season and immense progress shown, Mousinho still wants to manage expectations and says the long-term plan is not one to be rushed. "There is no massive rush next year to all of a sudden become a side challenging at the top end of the league," he added."That point will definitely come but for now we need to have the foundations in first and go from there, the strategy here is long term and we will build on that and continue next year."
BBC News
22-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Portsmouth's remarkable rise under Mousinho
The rise of Portsmouth under boss John Mousinho has been quite remarkable. Victory on Monday over Watford confirmed another season in the Championship, and promotion last season came after a 12-year absence from the second those 12 long years Portsmouth fans yearned for a successful campaign to propel them back to the league in which they felt they belonged, but they always came up just arrived at the club midway through the 2022/23 season as a relatively unknown quantity, taking over from the experienced Danny Cowley just one year after gaining his pro licence. He was still featuring as a player and coach for Oxford United at the time, and his appointment came as a shock to some he was able to deliver that dream for the Pompey support and won the League One title in his first full season in then go into the Championship for the first time and, despite a shaky start, secure safety with two games to spare, is a commendable achievement. Portsmouth have been far from perfect this season but their home form has seen them survive. On the road they have won just three times, but at Fratton Park they have 11 wins and the seventh best home record in the league. Mousinho has managed to make Fratton a fortress for this team, with every home game feeling like a cup final with an intimidating atmosphere for visiting sides. That was summed up when Leeds came to Portsmouth in early March and the ground erupted as Colby Bishop ran through and chipped the ball into the net to win the game. Work-life balance and sacrifice Mousinho is an intense character, incredibly dedicated and has committed his life to his job - as many would the ability to have a healthy work-life balance when managing a club like Portsmouth seems near impossible as he revealed during an appearance on BBC Radio Solent's "Who Needs Mourinho?" podcast."My wife criticises me a lot for taking the laptop to bed and that's something I need to be a bit better at," he said. "I've found it difficult because of the pressure of the game, you never know when you're going to get another opportunity and you never know when you're going to get another opportunity to be Portsmouth manager."My wife and I, if we can go out, I'm usually scribbling a couple of tactical bits on napkins which is nonsense but I'm not sure why I do it. I don't list that as a strength."However back in December he said the sacrifice is something he is prepared for, opening up about how the busy Christmas period was for him and his family. "You don't get a chance to sit down and relax, that's part of the business and we're not going to cry about it." he told BBC Sport. "If you want to get into the industry and you want the highs of winning and the glory that came with last season then you have to make sacrifices and you have to get on with it. "No-one is forcing us to do it and it's our choice. I don't want anyone to feel sorry for us and if you want a bit of time off over Christmas, don't be in football!" Mousinho eyes 'next building block' Straight after victory over Watford confirmed Portsmouth's Championship status for another season, Mousinho was looking forward. The 38-year-old will get the chance over the summer to add to his squad and prepare themselves for another gruelling campaign in the Championship. "It's a brilliant achievement, but it is just that," he told BBC Radio Solent. "It's the next building block in terms of where we need to go next as a football club to make sure that we establish ourselves as a Championship side."When we spoke this time last season, we set the goal of the most important thing being that we were still in the Championship. "That gives us another year in terms of the finances to build, keeping hold of players and going again to improve on where we've been this year."Mousinho and sporting director Richard Hughes agreed extensions to their long-term contracts in September 2024. Chairman Michael Eisner said at the time that they were a partnership he believed in and they were "totally aligned to their long-term strategy." In their final two games of the season, Portsmouth face Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Saturday, 26 April before hosting Hull City on the final day. Then after a break, Mousinho, Hughes and the team will begin planning for another season in the Championship, with the added bonus of a South Coast derby with relegated Southampton in the second tier.
