Mousinho shares what’s really pleased him despite Portsmouth dip
John Mousinho became the first Portsmouth manager to finally return the island city to the second tier of English football after 13 seasons.
He is now on the verge of steering Pompey to safety in their first season back, but they are certainly not out of the woods yet.
The Blues take on Coventry City on Wednesday (9 April) in the latest tricky away test, which has undoubtedly been the Achilles’ heel this season with 11 defeats on the road out of 12 – comfortably a relegation level of form.
This comes in stark contrast to their home form, which has been solid enough to be challenging for the play-offs. Mix the two together, and the result is the lower-mid-table anxiety Pompey fans are now wracked with.
Mousinho discusses away form
Mousinho has interestingly admitted there are “plenty of elements” on the road the Portsmouth head coach is actually very content with, despite the wretched run of results.
Many of these defeats have albeit come via the ruthless fine margins of the Championship, including the past two on their travels against Preston and Millwall – both ending in late 2-1 losses.
The head coach has also confessed there is a lot to improve about Portsmouth on the road, having regularly emerged from away games severely agitated at individual moments which have cost his team in a way that would not so often occur in League One.
“I think there are plenty of elements away from home over the past few weeks that we’re really pleased with,” Mousinho told the official Portsmouth FC social media channels (8 April) ahead of the Coventry clash.
“There are plenty of elements we need to improve upon as well. We want to make sure that we’re nice and solid away from home, first of all.
“We need to build our success off the back of a clean sheet and go from there.”
🎙️ John Mousinho ahead of #Pompey‘s trip to Coventry.
— Portsmouth FC (@Pompey) April 8, 2025
Portsmouth blessed by sheer number of competing teams
Many Portsmouth supporters are convinced their side will stay up, even by virtue of staggering towards an appropriate points total.
Pompey fans are less than impressed with the torrid away form though there have indeed been hints towards improving performances, which can hopefully take effect next season after a squad rebuild.
| Portsmouth wins – 2024-25 | Total |
| Home | 10 |
| Away | 2 |
Despite the fluctuating levels of apparent relegation threat, the Blues remain 17th in the Championship, five places above the bottom three, and still have to face both Derby and Hull at Fratton Park – the duo are also fighting for their lives.
It promises to go to the wire – just hopefully not involving the Blues when they welcome the Tigers on the final day of the campaign (3 May).