Portsmouth chief makes ‘horrible’ Coventry admission after what friend did to him
Portsmouth’s 2024/25 Championship survival campaign had plenty of ups and downs.
John Mousinho guided Pompey to a 16th-place finish after the South Coast club returned to the second-tier for the first time since 2012.
It was a sensational feat, even more so given the fact that Portsmouth only won one of their first 14 matches.
However, even in the latter half of the campaign, the South Coast club had some big relegation scares, including the late defeat to Coventry City.
Richard Hughes recalls ‘wonderful’ hug friend gave him after heartbreaking defeat against Coventry
Portsmouth’s 1-0 defeat to Coventry towards the end of the campaign was gut-wrenching.
Pompey managed to subdue the hosts’ attack until the last minute when Jamie Paterson netted a last-minute winner.
Tensions were high after the defeat, with some Portsmouth fans even calling for Mousinho to be sacked.
However, the South Coast club managed to weather the storm to eventually survive the drop with ease.
Now, sporting director Richard Hughes has looked back on the “horrible” defeat and praised his friend for hugging him in the aftermath, despite working for Coventry.
He told The News (30 May): “Coventry was horrible, though. A friend of mine who works there didn’t say anything to me after the game. He just walked over, gave me a hug and walked off.
“That’s the wonderful thing, everyone wants their team to be successful, but there’s also that honour among thieves, people who work for football clubs also know the highs and lows, the pain, the sad moments and the good moments and everything in between.
“You become really conscious of that when you work for a football club, your high moments are normally linked with somebody else’s low moments, and that was a nice touch.
“He was probably delighted at winning in the last minute, yet spared a thought and had sympathy for us for losing the last kick of the game. It was horrible.”
Portsmouth have a chance to get revenge on Coventry next season
Unfortunately for Coventry, their late victory mattered little in the end as the Midlands club were defeated in the play-offs against eventual winners Sunderland.
With Frank Lampard’s side remaining in the Championship for the upcoming campaign, it presents a perfect chance for Pompey to get their revenge on Coventry.
| Portsmouth’s head-to-head record against Coventry City | |
| Wins | 18 |
| Draws | 10 |
| Losses | 20 |
If Portsmouth want to establish themselves as a top-half Championship team next season, they need to be picking up points against sides challenging for promotion.
Mousinho’s team were unlucky not to get a draw at the Coventry Building Society Arena this season. Therefore, there is no reason why they cannot improve upon this result in the next campaign.