Portsmouth hope to not pay price for loyalty after shock Derby news
Portsmouth have consistently backed John Mousinho to steady the ship this season and keep the club a Championship entity.
Mousinho arrived at Pompey in January 2023 and is now the second-longest-serving manager or head coach in the division, behind only Michael Carrick at Middlesbrough by a matter of months.
With clubs around the Blues in the survival battle strengthening including changing their managers, the Pompey board are standing firm and getting behind their head coach.
Mousinho the last remaining manager in bottom seven
Derby County have been ambitious this week, announcing the appointment of John Eustace as manager, who left promotion-chasing Blackburn Rovers for Pride Park.
It’s a shock twist, really, given the strides Blackburn have made this season. But Derby fans will be buoyed by the move as Eustace replaces Paul Warne.
The move also makes Mousinho the last remaining manager in post among the bottom seven clubs in the league, demonstrating that promoted bosses are often victims of their own success when it comes to competing at the higher level.
There will be more of an expectation on Derby – who joined Pompey in automatic promotion from League One last season before recently sacking Warne on the back of a long losing run – to now move clear of the relegation places.
This has been the case at every club hoping for a ‘new manager bounce’, but Pompey don’t need it. They recognise what they have and how impressively Mousinho has operated with essentially one hand tied behind his back budget and injury-wise.
Portsmouth will not get better than Mousinho now
Portsmouth continued their impressive home form – reflective really of a side chasing the top six – against Cardiff City on Tuesday night (11 February) with a 2-1 win at Fratton Park.
However, the travels have been a source of pain and exasperation for Blues fans who follow the team to Oxford United on Saturday (15 February), a very familiar stomping ground not only for Mousinho, but several of his players.
At this stage of a season, the only managers available are those recently sacked or those who have been out of work for a considerable period – and the decent crop of those left are holding out for the perfect job with a sizeable budget to work with.
Mousinho won’t do better than Pompey at this stage of his career, but that is a mutual connection. The Blues don’t need to be making rash decisions at board level to stay in the league. They have that winning formula, and just need to improve the away form.