Mousinho ‘looking over his shoulder’ in Portsmouth Championship claim
John Mousinho may still have some nerves as Portsmouth face Watford on Monday, with this season’s Championship relegation battle nearing its conclusion.
Fratton Park will host Tom Cleverley’s team on 21 April, with the home side six points above the drop zone, with three games left to play.
Pompey secured a significant result in their previous fixture against Norwich City at Carrow Road, winning 5-3.
With the Hampshire outfit still not mathematically safe from relegation, Mousinho will still have one eye on the table in the final stretch of the campaign.
Portsmouth will survive Championship relegation this season
Pompey will survive relegation from the Championship this season, Justin Peach says.
The Second Tier podcast co-host believes the Hampshire outfit will avoid going down to League One after beating Norwich.
| Competition (2024/25) | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses |
| Championship | 43 | 13 | 12 | 20 |
Peach feels Mousinho is still looking over his shoulder, though, as Fratton Park looks to officially confirm their security in the second division.
Speaking on Second Tier podcast (19 April), he said: “Definitely [Portsmouth will be in the Championship]. It was quite telling because Mousinho said, even 5-2 up with eight minutes to go, he didn’t feel secure.
“He’s still looking over his shoulder, and I imagine that’ll be the case with the league table as well.”
Mousinho deserve credit at Fratton Park
Mousinho deserves credit at Fratton Park, as many had the Hampshire outfit going back down to League One at the start of the season.
The English manager didn’t have the best start to life in the Championship and could arguably have lost his job after a poor run of results.
Since completing some decent business in the winter transfer window, Pompey have achieved better results and steadily climbed the table.
Rob Atkinson’s loan from Bristol City has proven to be an impressive deal, with the centre-back playing a crucial role in recent matches.
The Hampshire outfit are six points above the relegation zone, and a win over Watford will mathematically confirm their safety if Luton Town lose their game against Bristol City on Monday.
Pompey fans will be confident of surviving the drop from this point, as it’ll take some extraordinary circumstances for things to change.
Mousinho and his players can rejoice and recharge for next season, with the English manager hopefully aiming to make further progress at Fratton Park.
Exciting times are ahead for the Hampshire outfit as they have a chance to establish themselves in the Championship.