‘Mousinho can’t listen to Jobi McAnuff’ as relegation verdict shared at Portsmouth
John Mousinho has eight games remaining to achieve Championship safety with Portsmouth.
Pompey have had an up-and-down season until this point but have gone into the international break after losing back to back games.
The defeat against Preston North End was a blow which has left the south coast club just four points off the relegation zone in the second tier.
With that being said, Mousinho has to shut out outside noise from the likes of Jobi McAnuff to make sure his side finishes the campaign in the best possible fashion.
McAnuff backs Portsmouth for Championship survival
Despite recent defeats at Deepdale and against Plymouth Argyle, there has been positives to take from performances and results in weeks gone by.
Arguably the best of the bunch came at home to league leaders Leeds United who have had an top class season under Daniel Farke.
There was so much good to come out of this performance and led McAnuff to believe safety was secured for Pompey.
Speaking on the Essential EFL podcast (20 March), he said: “Portsmouth, after the Leeds game, I was saying ‘That’s it, they’re safe.
“That was because they beat Leeds and they’ve been so good at Fratton Park, but then they go and lose to Plymouth, a result you just don’t see coming.
“I just feel they’ll have enough there to get what they need between now and the end of the season.”
As positive as this is to hear, Mousinho can’t let his side take up this attitude and just think they will survive without working hard.
Portsmouth must focus on avoiding relegation
It is nice to receive such praise from pundits and the like, but it may not prove to be positive for the form at Fratton Park.
If the players believe they are safe and don’t need to necessarily pick up results to earn a positive second-tier finish and slip to a string of defeats.
This can’t be allowed to happen with a gap of just four points separating Pompey from 22nd-placed Derby County in the bottom three.
| Position | Club | Games played | Goal difference | Points |
| 17. | Portsmouth | 38 | -15 | 42 |
| 18. | Oxford United | 38 | -16 | 42 |
| 19. | Hull City | 38 | -8 | 41 |
| 20. | Stoke City | 38 | -14 | 39 |
| 21. | Cardiff City | 38 | -20 | 39 |
| 22. | Derby County | 38 | -11 | 38 |
This can not be allowed and Mousinho needs to continue to rely on the likes of Josh Murphy and Colby Bishop to help secure much-needed wins.
The Pompey head coach will also be hoping for continued positive performances from Nicolas Schmid who has been superb in goal.
It will certainly be interesting to see how the final eight games of the season go and whether survival is achieved.