View: Mousinho right not to engage Cleverley in Portsmouth war of words
John Mousinho has taken the correct approach in refusing to engage in a war of words with Watford boss Tom Cleverley after his side’s win over Portsmouth.
After a Boxing Day contest with plenty of needle – escalating with Kwadwo Baah’s confrontation with the Pompey fans and players at the final whistle which earned him a second yellow card – Mousinho commented that had Baah been part of his squad, he may never play for him again [The News, 27 December].
Cleverley responded furiously to claim Mousinho’s behaviour cost his side but the Blues chief, speaking to BBC Sport’s Dan George [27 December via X], has made it clear he “doesn’t care” what the Watford manager has to say, and would only ever listen to Cleverley if he became his boss.
Mousinho reinforced: “In the most polite possible way, I don’t care what [Cleverley] said. His opinion doesn’t really concern me. The only way his opinion would concern me is if he buys the football club. Then I’ll start to listen to him.”
Mousinho brushes off Cleverley after Watford v Portsmouth
At a time when the fixture schedule is as rigorous as it is in the Championship, and with Portsmouth having agonisingly lost out on a return from their trip to Watford late on, there is no time to dwell on comments from a rival manager.
Cleverley is doing what he feels is best by his players, but it was clear to see he was incensed by Baah’s actions that have now cost his availability for the Hornets’ next game.
For Pompey, it is all about bouncing back, getting some consistency back and looking to move further clear of that drop zone. You can tell immediately by Mousinho’s reaction to Cleverley’s comments that they will certainly not touch the sides in his consideration when the Blues travel to Bristol City on Sunday.
There is certainly no time to be extending managerial confrontations – Sunday is a winnable game, and Pompey have shown themselves to go toe-to-toe with several of the league’s best throughout the first half of this challenging campaign.
It was only earlier this month Mousinho’s men strolled to a 3-0 win at Fratton Park over the Robins, who will be seeking to avenge the result at Ashton Gate as the calendar year comes to a close.
In other Portsmouth news, Zak Swanson is maturing into a solid Championship performer.
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