Exclusive: Mousinho ‘loses patience’ with two Portsmouth stars
John Mousinho was furious with his Portsmouth players following the manner of the weekend defeat by Preston North End.
The Blues equalised through Colby Bishop but conceded a late decisive goal for yet another loss on the road at Deepdale (15 March).
With Portsmouth having now fallen from 10 points clear of the Championship drop to just four in under a week, Mousinho and supporters have raised serious concerns.
Ian Darke says Mousinho must shoulder blame
Mousinho must take his share of the blame rather than just his squad, according to Ian Darke.
The head coach claimed after Saturday’s defeat that he had been “too kind” on his Portsmouth players “for too long”, and was openly raging with how they lost the game.
TV commentator and Blues fan Darke admitted it was not Mousinho’s finest hour as Pompey boss, and believes the international break has arrived at the right time to help smooth over the rut.
“Only Mousinho knows how nice and how soft he’s been to the players, but his mood after that game was that he’d lost patience with a couple of unnamed players,” Darke exclusively told Pompey News.
“There was a feeling there that he’d had enough and will have a rethink. The two-week break comes at the right time as they need a mental reset.
“He has to take a bit of the blame himself, because he has to pilot some kind of different approach for those away matches sometimes. I do think he’s got most things right since arriving, but Preston told me that it wasn’t one of his best days as head coach. It’s not all the players, and he’d probably privately admit that.”
Portsmouth pulled back into survival scrap
It’s indicative of both Portsmouth and the Championship itself that the Blues can lose to the bottom side at that time twice in three games – and beat the league leaders in the other contest.
Pompey’s win over Leeds United at Fratton Park (9 March) was one of the best performances they have delivered under Mousinho’s reign, which has now well surpassed two years.
That’s why it comes with added frustration for the head coach that after a win which put Pompey well ahead of the chasing pack, they have now staggered back into the survival battle with back-to-back defeats.
| POS | Championship table 2024-25 | PLD | PTS | GD |
| 17 | PORTSMOUTH | 38 | 42 | -15 |
| 18 | Oxford | 38 | 42 | -16 |
| 19 | Hull | 38 | 41 | -8 |
| 20 | Stoke | 38 | 39 | -14 |
| 21 | Cardiff | 38 | 39 | -20 |
| 22 | Derby | 38 | 38 | -11 |
| 23 | Luton | 38 | 35 | -26 |
| 24 | Plymouth | 38 | 33 | -37 |
One of those came by virtue of handing Plymouth Argyle – battling for their lives – their first away league win of the season, then came the late horror at Deepdale.
Pompey seem reluctant to do it the easy way at the moment and the run-in provides some tough tests. Mousinho is understandably steamed up with anger but it’s on his shoulders to find a solution and fast.