Portsmouth weakness emerges in new John Mousinho assessment
Portsmouth are in the process of preparing for another season of Championship football.
It was a difficult start for Pompey upon their return to the second tier, but John Mousinho turned it around after being backed by the Eisners.
There is plenty of work to be done over the summer, though, as the Blues look to get their squad in shape to cope with the demands that next term is likely to bring.
This will require honest assessments from those at Fratton Park to ensure the right moves are made to push for bigger and better things.
Portsmouth early Championship prediction made
Mousinho’s men may have been fighting at the wrong end, but the Blues managed to secure a solid 16th-placed finish in plenty of time before the end of the season.
| Position | Goal Difference | Points |
| 16 | -13 | 54 |
Mousinho will have his sights firmly set on pushing further up the Championship table next season, but with the likes of Wrexham and Birmingham City being promoted, that will be no easy task.
Pompey have one of the smaller budgets in the division, despite Michael Eisner doing what he can to change that, while some big spenders are adding more competition.
Nevertheless, the first season can sometimes be the hardest, and Pompey have been backed to build upon what they did.
Speaking on the Second Tier podcast (1 June), Ryan Dilks admitted: “I’m not sure what my early expectations are for Portsmouth. I don’t think they’ll go down, but I’m not massively looking higher up the division with them. I reckon another mid-table solid finish for them next season would be a good season for Pompey.
“Budget-wise, they will probably be one of the weaker sides in the division, especially with two of the sides coming up from League One. With that in mind, expectations do need to be moderated.
“But what we’ve seen from Portsmouth this past season shows they’ve got what it takes to build upon what they’ve done. They’ve ended up staying up relatively comfortably, and they’ve done that by keeping full faith in the manager and recruiting pretty well. If it wasn’t for the constant injuries at the back, they may have stayed up more comfortably.”
Portsmouth must back Mousinho
Portsmouth will be under no illusion about the difficulties they are set to face in the Championship next season, but Mousinho has proved his strength as boss, and his side have to give it all they’ve got.
As well as retaining core players like Josh Murphy, new additions will be needed too, and Portsmouth will have to be shrewd in their business, exploring possible foreign transfers again to save money.
Mousinho impressed many this season, which led to potential links away towards managerial vacancies.
This should highlight to Eisner what a promising manager they have, and if they show him the right support, he will surely continue the progress shown so far.
One thing is for sure, Fratton Park will be rocking again.