Mousinho wants more from Portsmouth player, says exactly who he can learn from
John Mousinho made a lot of signings to help Portsmouth adapt to life in the Championship this season.
While many of the signings were instant hits that quickly cemented their place in the first team, others have endured slower starts to their Pompey careers.
However, Mousinho has singled out one fringe player for his “all-action” performances in training and highlighted where he needs to improve to claim a starting place next season.
Mousinho offers advice to young Portsmouth striker
Thomas Waddington was signed by Mousinho during the January transfer window earlier this year.
The 20-year-old was recruited as one for the future, although he made five appearances for the Blues and could have featured more if he didn’t pick up a series of niggling injuries.
In quotes published by The News (4 June), Mousinho claimed that Waddington is further ahead in his development than expected.
And he also shared what type of improvement his coaching team would be looking for in the coming months.
He said: “I don’t want him to become Colby Bishop. However, he needs to look at the in-possession threat Colby gives. Not just the goal-scoring threat, but the ability to hold the ball up and the ability to really batter defences to give us an outlet.”
Mousinho claimed that he isn’t worried about Waddingham’s string of injuries, as this was considered part of adjusting to the demands of English football.
He explained: “When we stick Tom out on the training pitch, he doesn’t hold back, he is all-action, he is at it, every second of every minute of training.
“We’ve had to adjust that a couple of times. He’s had a couple of issues with his groin and then hamstring, which is more overload than anything else.”
Waddingham is one of three Australians in the Pompey squad, but they all missed the end of this season through injury.
Nevertheless, they are all expected to be fit and raring to go when 2025-26 pre-season training begins later in June.
Waddingham will be given minutes when the time is right
It can’t be easy adapting to the demands of English football from the Australian A-League, especially when you’re only 20 years old.
The Championship is not only played at a faster pace, but it’s also more physical. Of course, there’s a giant step up in the overall quality of the players as well.
Even so, Waddingham has shown plenty of signs of potential during the minutes he registered at Portsmouth.
| Appearances | Minutes Played | Goals | Assists |
| 5 | 108 | 1 | 0 |
While he’s unlikely to be a first-choice striker in the coming season, he’ll be given minutes when Mousinho senses it’s the right time.
From there, it’s about taking your opportunity.
Waddingham scored his first goal on his debut against West Bromwich Albion last season. He’ll be glad to get that monkey off his back quickly. Here’s hoping he can kick on and contribute with even more goals in the next campaign.