Portsmouth can be surprise promotion challengers next season – David Norris
Former Portsmouth man David Norris has backed the club to be the Championship’s surprise promotion contender next season.
Citing fellow former club Ipswich Town’s exploits in reaching the Premier League straight out of League One last campaign, Norris believes the nous of John Mousinho will be a big reason behind Pompey enjoying a great return to the second tier.
The midfielder played in blue during the club’s last stint in the Championship, scoring eight goals in the 2011-12 season including the memorable last-gasp goal at Southampton.
“I’m looking at the Championship next season and it’s really strong, but without sounding biased, I think a surprise package will be Portsmouth,” Norris exclusively told Pompey News.
“I think with the quality of John Mousinho, it’s going to be really interesting to see how he adapts to a different quality of opposition and I can see him working a bit of magic.
“Portsmouth could be a real surprise contender for promotion. We’ve seen it with Ipswich, albeit with some backing they had, but if Pompey can be around those play-offs towards the end of the season, it’ll be interesting.”
Portsmouth fans unsure what to expect from next season
As has been seen every year in the Championship, it’s impossible to predict – and that goes for promoted sides, especially unknown quantities such as Portsmouth who have been out of the league for so long, but are riding on considerable momentum.
Opposing teams will find a notorious cauldron of noisy home support when visiting Fratton Park – and Mousinho will be aiming to build a fortress-like impact for home fixtures next term.
Whilst plenty of Pompey fans will be content with staying afloat and establishing the club at second-tier level again, some are aiming more speculatively and believe the likes of Ipswich and several before them – Sunderland reached the top six in their first season back in 2022-23 – can pave the way for a potential top-six push.
Of course, incomings will dictate a lot of the expectations, and a crucial summer of recruitment has already commenced with Jordan Williams captured from Barnsley, who brings Championship experience.
A good start, and the big dreams will gather pace.
In other Portsmouth news, Andy Moon has revealed the request Pompey made to the EFL regarding their fixtures.
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