David Norris compares John Mousinho to new Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany
David Norris has lauded Portsmouth boss John Mousinho for his style of play after it rocketed the club to the Championship.
The last time Pompey were in the second tier during the 2011-12 season, Norris was in a blue shirt, providing some incredible memories in a turbulent campaign off the pitch.
The midfielder even compared LMA League One Manager of the Year Mousinho’s style to that of Vincent Kompany, who despite suffering relegation with Burnley will now take charge of Bayern Munich from next season, and to Kieran McKenna, who has just taken Norris’ former club Ipswich Town into the Premier League.
“It’ll be interesting to see how [Mousinho] goes next season, because he’ll have a few different challenges,” Norris exclusively told Pompey News.
“Vincent Kompany – just as an example – has his set way of playing, and if his team are going to go down, they’ll go down playing his way and he’s stuck with it. But from what I’ve seen of Mousinho at Portsmouth, he’ll change it up if it’s not working, and you’ve seen it with the number of times his team have come from behind.
“I think he’s got a lot about him, and a lot of tactical credentials. There’s a lot of attention on McKenna at Ipswich too at the moment, and I think they both have the potential to go very far.”
Mousinho has potential to take Portsmouth to great heights
Having already silenced many sceptics after taking his first management job with Portsmouth in the midst of playing for Oxford United, Mousinho has won the hearts of all at Fratton Park.
To have achieved where several before him failed, in once again reaching the top two divisions, it will be intriguing to see how he begins 2024-25, and the ilk of players he is looking to add to his squad.
Plenty of reinforcement needs to be done to the Pompey squad, but Mousinho has always been the type of quietly confident and authoritative figure who will navigate the early stages of the Championship well with the Blues, and he certainly now has the faith of the fanbase.
The Portsmouth boss is bound to attract external attention should he continue the club’s upward trajectory on the pitch – he was rumoured to be on Ipswich’s radar before McKenna committed to Portman Road [beIN Sports] – but for now, the club and the manager are doing all the right things.
In other Portsmouth news, there will be no pre-season friendlies at Fratton Park this year.
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