John Mousinho speaks to the media ahead of Pompey's encounter at Burnley.
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00:00Firstly, John, it's been a few days since the West Brom game. You had a chance to look
00:05back on the game. So what pleased you most in the first-half performance and then equally
00:10where did you feel the second-half performance kind of fell down and allowed West Brom to
00:13take control?
00:14Yeah, the first-half performance was pleasing after the initial goal that we conceded. We
00:18are deeply unhappy about the way that we conceded that goal. I think we could have been a lot
00:22better and a lot sharper and it was just unnecessary. We weren't undone by a brilliant bit of play,
00:26it was just a quick throwing behind. So the way that we responded after that was excellent.
00:32Hugely promising, aggressive attacking football. We were front-footed in terms of the way that
00:36we pressed but we didn't score. We didn't actually get back into the game with a goal
00:40so that was the disappointing part of it. The second-half, I think it was a bit more
00:44of an even affair and in the two moments, the quality of West Brom just had a bit more
00:47than us and we didn't really manage to create a huge amount. We had a lot of possession
00:51and I think there's plenty of things that we need to be better at there and make sure
00:55we string together that full 90 minutes. I'm sure the game would have been different
00:58if we'd have got that goal in the first-half and I think a big takeaway is that when we
01:02do have the momentum and we are on top, we need to put the ball on the back of the net.
01:05Coming on today, you talk about a clinical edge. Do you kind of put that down to personnel
01:09that are not available? Is it psychological or is it a technical thing you kind of work
01:12on on the training ground and make sure you do have that cutting edge up front?
01:15I think there's a combination of a few things. We've spoken a lot to Christian about how
01:20his all-round game is brilliant. I think he offers so much to us in terms of the work
01:26that he puts in, how he holds the ball up, how he links play, how creative he is and
01:31I think the one thing that we want to improve upon is his goal return. I don't think there's
01:35necessarily any chances that Christian missed at the weekend but it's about putting himself
01:39in those positions and making sure that he's there to miss or score the chances. Even then,
01:43I think Calum Magg is probably our best finisher at the football club and had a couple of our
01:47best chances so I think there's also just making sure that we do take those when they
01:52come to us. Some of those are difficult chances and we don't expect forwards and players that
01:57we have on the pitch to finish every single opportunity that they get but I think once
02:01one falls we'll be okay.
02:03In the last two outings against Sunderland and West Brom, conceded both times in the
02:0751st minute after the second half. Is that something that's been discussed and is it
02:11a concentration issue or a tactical thing? What do you kind of put that down to?
02:15I don't know. I'd probably at the moment put that down to coincidence. If it keeps
02:18happening then it's something we need to address. It's a frustrating time to concede. I think
02:22every time it's a frustrating time to concede but especially when you regroup at half-time
02:25and we had a very, very positive half-time team talk and we thought we'd be able to go
02:29out and attack the game in the second half. It just deflated everybody within the crowd
02:36and within the ground and probably the team as well. We had an opportunity at the other
02:41end to really get a shot off or to get a cross off the goalkeeper's hands and they went down
02:45the other end and scored because we switched off just for half a second and players with
02:51that quality are going to put them all in the back of the net. I'm not sure yet. I think
02:56maybe part of it is just us being slightly gung-ho in areas and we need to be slightly
03:02more patient if we're behind in games. I think we came out of the middle of the pitch and
03:05exposed ourselves on the weekend. We got done a couple of times on the counter against Sunderland.
03:10I'm trying to be progressive and trying to go forward and that's something we probably
03:13need to think about and do better.
03:16We've seen two really eye-catching performances from Will Norris since Nicholas Schmidt arrived,
03:19especially that save in the first half here on Sunday. How pleased have you been with
03:24his reaction, probably from a psychological view, since that competition has come in?
03:28Is it something you've discussed with Will about that number one spot?
03:32Not really. I think the only discussion I've had with Will is that if he deserves to keep
03:38his place in the team, he'll keep his place in the team. I think Will's built up a lot
03:41of credit from what he did last season. He's built up a lot of credit for what he's done
03:44this year and it's just not the case of us waiting for him to make a mistake to bring
03:48him out the side. We don't want any of the players to operate on that basis, least of
03:53all the goalkeepers have to have the faith that they are going to be able to make errors
03:58as part of the game. The fewer errors they make, the better, but there's got to be that
04:02confidence they go into games with and a bit of freedom to play as well as to make those
04:06saves. But Will has made some fantastic saves for us and that was right up there to claw
04:10that ball back from being millimetres from being over the line and really keep the scoreline
04:15at 1-0. It would have been a frustrating one against the run of play from a long throw
04:18for us to concede. That's what we need from our defenders, that's what we need from our
04:21goalkeepers and the more of that we see, the better.
04:24Tom McIntyre and Regan Paul come back from long lay-offs. How pleased were you on a personal
04:29level because you must have seen them go through some really difficult moments in their long lay-offs?
04:33Yeah, I think for Regan it was a really long time that he was out. I think 10 months, pushing
04:37on 11 and that's a tough, tough place to be. I think when he was in his good form he was
04:42going into that injury, so he went into the Chesterfield game. I think he started 15 league
04:47games before that. We had an excellent record, hardly conceded a goal and he scored a few
04:51himself and he'd been a massive part of the side that was undefeated at the start of the
04:55season. So to have him back after such a long lay-off and not being quite ready at the start
04:59of the season was probably frustrating for him, as it was for everybody. So to get him
05:03back has been a massive, massive boost. And similar for Tom Mack, he's not been out quite
05:07as long and also we haven't seen as much of him as we have seen of Regan. But to get Tom
05:13Mack back in the fold and to throw him in straight at the deep end, which is what we
05:16did at the weekend because we know he's such a good player and for him to come out the
05:19other end with so much credit was really pleasing.
05:22And moving on to Burnley, what kind of qualities did a side need to bring to be able to try
05:26and get a result at the Turf War?
05:27I think we've got to be at the top of our game and we've got to make sure that we don't
05:29switch off in those crucial moments in the game like we did at the weekend and put ourselves
05:331-0 down when I think it was a really preventable goal. We have to make sure that when we go
05:38to places like Burnley, we expect a fast start. As we saw up at En-Road, as we saw up at the
05:44Riverside, we've got to be on top of our game, we've got to be sharp, we have to make sure
05:48that we defend well and also try and impose our game on them as well. I think one thing
05:52I've been pleased with over the last two home games is that we play a lot better football
05:56I think, without having that cutting edge and that ruthlessness in the final third.
06:00But it's building, it's getting there and we need to make sure we do that away from
06:04home as well as at home.
06:05A few notable injuries from the weekend, Cassini, Yengi, Conor Shotmansey especially. Any update
06:09on the injury front and who's available for the weekend?
06:12Yeah, so Cass, unfortunately he was named in the squad and he pulled up in the warm-up.
06:17The very, very last thing he did, he ended up tweaking his groin. It's nothing too bad,
06:21we've had a scan on it, it's going to be a couple of weeks but one of those that he's
06:25just slightly niggly so we want to make sure that we keep on top of it. And Shox's injury
06:28has been the same, just very, very niggly, a soleus injury. Trying to get him back as
06:32quickly as we can, he's come back and trained but had to go back to the physio room. We
06:37need to really make sure that when he does come back he's fit and he doesn't risk anything
06:42or he doesn't risk doing anything serious to that calf because he's such an important
06:46player for us. So, Conor will probably miss the weekend but we're very, very confident
06:50we'll have him back for Sheffield United.
06:51And finally, Mark Omani.
06:53Yeah, Mark, not too bad on Mark, a bit of bone bruising from that knock he picked up
06:58when he was away and we expect to see him back in training on Monday.
07:05Yeah, in recent times you've had a lot of injuries in the centre of defence, that appears
07:10to be easing a bit at the moment and now it's happening with the strikers.
07:15Yeah, and that's probably part of the issue we've had this year is that when we've had
07:18injuries they've probably been concentrated to certain areas of the pitch. So, recently
07:23we've been playing with one recognised centre-back up until Tom Mack was back. So, Riley was
07:29the only centre-back that we actually had available with Tom Regan and Conor and Iban
07:35injured as well. So, yeah, pretty frustrating from that point of view with the centre-backs
07:40and the same sort of thing seems to have happened in the centre-forwards. We went into the season
07:44with a fit Colby Bishop, fit Christian Sadie, fit Cassidy Yenghi. Obviously, we know what's
07:49happened to Colby and we've brought in a couple of players behind that to really try and bolster
07:53the ranks but unfortunately Mark and Kass have both found themselves injured as well.
07:58With Yenghi, as you described his injury, is it the same area of the groin that he injured
08:03previously?
08:04It's the other side, it's the other side, very similar injury but the other side.
08:08Is that reassuring, it's not the same issue there then?
08:10I think so but it doesn't really make a difference in terms of how long he's out.
08:14So, yeah, I think it's better that the injuries don't reoccur but you never know if you're
08:19compensating for a couple of things here and there so we need to get on top of it.
08:22And in terms of, he's flown back as well of course from Australian duty,
08:25had that an impact on it as well?
08:27It might have done, it's never ideal if you're taking those long-haul flights but
08:30in fairness to Cass, he was back in good time, he was back in the country on Monday
08:34because of the red card that he picked up in that first game, he wasn't
08:37eligible to play in that second game that Sammy played 90 minutes in so it might have
08:41had an impact but we don't really know.
08:43And then Martin, he did that on international duty?
08:46Yeah and just one of those, we're pretty thankful that it's not too bad and it's
08:50just a bit of bone bruising so he'll be back on Monday.
08:54Obviously for a lot of players who have not played this level before, they're stepping
08:57up, they're adjusting, they're learning about themselves.
09:00Someone like Paddy Lane's not been this level before but what do you make of his
09:03start to the Championship?
09:04Yeah I think he's been an adjustment for players like Paddy and I think he had one
09:08of his better performances at the weekend, especially in the first half, he looked really
09:12sharp coming inside off the right there and I think the moments that Paddy needs to improve
09:16are now when he is faced up against a full-back and whether he beats him for pace, beats him
09:20down the outside or a bit more trickery inside, those are the sides of his game that he needs
09:25to develop and needs to keep working on as we go through the season.
09:28Paddy's a very, very honest young lad, always works his socks off, brilliant for the team
09:33and a big part of his game last year was the end product that he had with the assistant
09:36goals and he needs to add that this year.
09:38Because he's obviously a hard-working lad, the away games at Leeds and Middlesbrough
09:43he's put on a hell of a shift defensively but clearly you want more offensively.
09:47Yeah I think what we'll get going forward, particularly in some of those away games
09:52where we've been sat very deep and we've asked the wide men to really do a job on
09:56whether it's wingers or full-backs, we probably want to be slightly more progressive as we
10:00go forward.
10:00Now we think we've got personnel and fitness into the side, so I think wingers operating
10:05a bit higher up the pitch, that should suit Paddy.
10:07I thought it really suited Murph at the weekend and suited Paddy to a certain extent as well
10:11and that's something I think is going to help as we go forward.
10:15Yeah at the very least anyway, wingers and all players actually out there have got a
10:18bit of shifting.
10:20You want more creativity from Paddy presumably as well?
10:23I mean when you have the goal and assist return that he had last year, I think when you come
10:27into this season and you step up a level, I think that's a real challenge for all of
10:31us to make sure that we do create a bit more and score a lot more.
10:34And yeah certainly for Paddy that's something we're going to keep asking more of.
10:39But I suppose you have to be patient as well, especially young lads, they've got to learn
10:42haven't they?
10:43Yeah it's easy to forget how young some of these boys are and it's the first time
10:47they've played at this level but whilst we do have to have that positivity and patience,
10:53the word I keep referring back to is we've got to have that realism as well, there's
10:56only so long we can afford to not be producing wins and we can't keep coming in after games
11:03and saying we've been a decent performance and we've been unlucky, we have to get results
11:08at some point.
11:09And I think the league is still extremely tight, it's still embryonic in terms of the
11:13table formation and I think a win at the weekend would have put us 12th, we didn't win so
11:19we're not there, we're second bottom, that's what it is.
11:22But it's really tight, it's really early days and we've got to make sure we're better.
11:26You've got a superb away record stretching back to last season as well, another huge
11:32test.
11:32Yeah they're all big tests, I don't think we're going to have any away game this year
11:37where we don't speak before the game and talk about how good the opposition are, I
11:41think they're all really good sides and they're all tough places to play and Burnley is certainly
11:45one of them.
11:46I'm a bit heightened by the fact that they've started the season so well, they're a side
11:49that's been relegated from the Premier League last year, they've got influx of a couple
11:53of new players, a new head coach and I think they're going to be a side to be reckoned
11:56with.
11:57How did you manage to get those points at Leeds and Middlesbrough, real big games as
12:02well?
12:04I think that we scored goals, we took our chances to be honest in those games where
12:10we didn't create a huge amount, we created less than we created at the weekend.
12:13I thought we had far more pressure on West Brom's goal than we did on Leeds and we did
12:17on Middlesbrough.
12:18I thought we created less chances and we just didn't put the ball in the back of the net
12:22but I thought against Leeds and Middlesbrough we were pretty ruthless with the way we put
12:26the ball in the back of the net and we need to take a bit of that into those games where
12:29we do create a few more chances.
12:31Finally Sorenson, he obviously scored in his debut at Leeds, he's been in and out the
12:35side, mainly on the bench, what do you make of his progress so far?
12:39He's probably been a bit unlucky not to play a bit more, I think he came in on a weekend
12:45where we probably weren't expecting him to be ready to start, he came in and started
12:49the game against Leeds, he got his goal, he came out of the side and then he was back
12:52in the side playing out of position at Middlesbrough which was probably a bit unfair and he's
12:56shown some really good glimpses when he's come on and when he's been involved and it's
13:00about a period of adjustment for Elias as much as anyone else as well because he's come
13:04over from playing at a different level and the whole adjustment I think is going to be
13:10a big learning curve for him but I think there's playing more to come for him and once he settles
13:15in and once he gets a couple more goals I think he'll be on his way.
13:18What's pleased you about him so far?
13:19I think the fact that he has scored and the fact that he's a bit like a threat and he's
13:23willing to run and I think he puts himself about as a centre-forward and those are some
13:28of the things that we really want to see from that forward line, leading the forward line
13:31really well, we've probably as well in terms of the way that we've played in those games
13:36haven't been particularly conducive to getting the ball to the centre-forwards a huge amount
13:39but we've seen a lot of work great and a lot of application on the other side of it and
13:44that's been great.
13:45And obviously it's between him and Sadio I suppose at the moment, fit forwards?
13:50Yeah we've got the two fit centre-forwards, I think Christian's come in and he's done
13:53a fantastic job, he's scored the two goals up at Middlesbrough and he's been a real
13:56handful in the other games as well and not necessarily the position we would have seen
14:00him in this year but he's come in, he's deputised and he's done really well and I
14:04think he's the only reason we're continuing to play Christian is because of how well he's done.