John Mousinho – all you need to know about Portsmouth’s promotion-winning manager
John Mousinho has quickly established himself as an icon at Portsmouth.
Upon taking over Pompey in 2023, the 39-year-old quickly led the South Coast club out of League One and returned them to the Championship.
Since then, Mousinho has established Portsmouth in the second tier, with fans dreaming of a return to the Premier League.
While other Championship sides have since been interested in Mousinho, so far, Pompey have been able to keep hold of their manager.
John Mousinho’s coaching history
Towards the end of his playing career, Mousinho looked to expand his coaching ability.
At Oxford United, the 39-year-old was the captain, but the former centre-back had an issue with injuries.
However, Mousinho would use this to his advantage and opted to join Karl Robinson’s coaching staff during a six-week layoff at the start of the 2020/21 campaign.
At the start of the 2021/22 season, the young manager signed a two-year contract, becoming a player-coach at the U’s.
Despite his age, Mousinho actually still played multiple matches, making eight appearances in the 2022/23 campaign before Portsmouth snapped him up in January 2023.
- Mousinho was a player-coach at Oxford United before his move to Portsmouth
- The 39-year-old had never managed a club before taking over at Pompey
- Mousinho has since overseen Portsmouth’s return to the Championship
Mousinho took over from Danny Cowley, whose nine-match winless run in League One saw him sacked, with Pompey stuck in 15th.
The Englishman finished his first season at Fratton Park in eighth place, a promising start for the young manager.
In the 2023/24 campaign, Mousinho oversaw Portsmouth lifting the League One title as they returned to the Championship with 97 points, his most impressive achievement to date.
The following season, Mousinho achieved a successful survival campaign at Portsmouth, with the promising manager now looking to build on this success.
John Mousinho is a Portsmouth icon
Portsmouth are in their best shape in over a decade, and much of this is down to Mousinho.
The manager’s long-term vision for the South Coast club has been excellent, with Pompey working their way up the English pyramid.
The fact that Portsmouth are seen as outsiders for promotion is a testament to Mousinho and all the work he has done to date.
Now, the task for Pompey is to make sure he stays at Fratton Park to see out his project.
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