John Mousinho ‘under pressure’ at Portsmouth after his West Brom admission
Portsmouth are looking ahead to a second consecutive season of Championship football.
It’s been an up-and-down season for Pompey, who have been fighting against relegation back to League One.
However, a 1-0 victory against Watford on Easter Monday has secured John Mousinho’s side safety in the Championship.
There is no time for relaxing, though, as the boss will be required to work hard during the summer transfer window to put his side in a better position next term.
Mousinho makes Portsmouth admission
Mousinho has done a good job with Portsmouth throughout the campaign, ensuring he has built a squad of players who are willing to put it all on the line.
There is no doubt that the spirit inside the dressing room has pulled the South Coast side to safety just as much as anything else on the pitch.
However, there have been nervy times for Pompey too and the boss has not been scared to change his line-up and formations on a regular basis to keep things fresh.
Portsmouth fans are supportive of Mousinho and he has earned himself respect thanks to his honesty throughout the campaign.
That being said, speaking about the season, the manager admitted that he thought his time was up when things got really bad.
He told The News (25 April): “I don’t know what I would have done as a fan, probably walked out and protested!
“At West Brom I thought I’d ran out of credit. I know we were rubbish on the day, regardless of the changes we made we weren’t good enough – and that’s a reflection on myself.
“But when they started singing my name afterwards, I thought, you know what, we’ve got half a chance here.”
Mousinho applying the pressure for next season
Saving Portsmouth from relegation has certainly earned Mousinho more credit in the bank ahead of next season and rightly so.
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost |
| 44 | 14 | 10 | 20 |
However, there have been bleak moments in the campaign and a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of West Brom may have been one of the standout low moments.
The South coast side have achieved their aims of survival this season, but next term the expectations will have to change and safety has to be secured in an easier fashion.
With that in mind, the boss’ continued honesty could come back to bite him as he has almost set the expectations that supporters can hold him to next season, admitting he knew at points what was being delivered wasn’t enough.
The hierarchy has to back the manager to strengthen his squad this summer to give a chance of a smoother campaign, but things don’t go to plan, Mousinho could be under pressure much sooner.