John Mousinho pinpoints Portsmouth turning point as survival won
Portsmouth often did it the hard way, but they have consolidated safety and can now expand and build for next season in the Championship.
John Mousinho and his squad have faced their critics this season – so too have the Eisners – but Pompey have managed to stay afloat with two games to spare.
There have been some memorable days and some dark ones, and it has been a huge learning curve, as Mousinho reminisces on when he believes the squad’s mentality shifted for the better in a tactical sense.
Mousinho points to underrated key moment in Portsmouth season
Portsmouth spent a period lasting between mid-September and early December inside the relegation places of the Championship.
It was in November when Michael Eisner brazenly declared Pompey would under no circumstances be relegated – a statement panicked upon at the time by supporters but now bookmarked and enjoyed since beating Watford to claim survival on Easter Monday (21 April).
The Blues have not occupied a relegation place at the end of a round of fixtures since 18 January, when Matt Ritchie’s double overcame Middlesbrough at Fratton Park, but it was an away draw at Hull City on 2 November that Mousinho actually pinpoints as his side turning a corner.
Pompey had eight days to approach the contest at the MKM Stadium which was drawn 1-1, having been beaten at home by Sheffield Wednesday previously. Their performances slowly began to improve as Mousinho and his staff altered the style of play, as he explained to BBC Radio Solent‘s Andy Moon (23 April).
“I felt there was a bit of a turning point when we played Hull away from home, after we’d played Sheffield Wednesday on a Friday night,” the head coach recalled.
“We’d spent a lot of the time preparing for the game, and it was the first time we decided to start tweaking things both in and out of possession as we had a bit of time. In the first half against Hull, there were a couple of moments when we stayed in the game, and then in the second half, we were relentless and completely deserved to win.
“I think it sparked a change in the boys in how they approach games at this level. Then we played Plymouth, lost the game but really played well. That game was a turning point against Hull and the days leading up to it. From then on, we changed our ways from how we prepared in pre-season to how we went about preparing for games at this level.”
Hull City and Sheffield Wednesday return to do battle
Mousinho’s interesting statement carries a poetic irony, in that Sheffield Wednesday and Hull – the two successive opponents across October and November of Portsmouth’s turnaround – are the final two opponents of the season.
Portsmouth head up to Hillsborough this Saturday (26 April) to meet a Sheffield Wednesday side whose supporters will be in loud voices of protest towards the ownership.
Mousinho has assured that his team will play their own game despite the hostile atmosphere, but Pompey fans themselves are bound largely to empathise given the issues the Blues have faced down the years with owners.
| Portsmouth – final two | Date |
| Sheffield Wed (A) | 26 April |
| Hull (H) | 3 May |
Afterwards comes the Fratton finale, as Hull visit potentially with their own survival still to fight for. The Championship dogfight remains especially tough, with several sides still scrapping for their lives.
It will be more of a carnival atmosphere for Portsmouth now – a scenario which may have seemed unimaginable in recent months.