Pompey boss John Mousinho talks to The News ahead of Saturday's final Championship game of the season against Hull
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00:00That's your John with me.
00:02Because it's your birthday,
00:04we've all come together
00:06putting out 50 peas.
00:08Thank you very much mate.
00:10Thank you. Happy birthday.
00:12I appreciate that. Cheers Neely. Thank you very much mate.
00:14I'll have that a bit later on.
00:20John, happy birthday.
00:22Has your first season in the Championship
00:24added any years to that age?
00:26I think so, yeah.
00:28It definitely felt like it through large parts
00:30of the season. To be honest, it was the same
00:32last season as well.
00:34I felt very, very similar pressures and similar
00:36stresses last year at the other end
00:38of the table. I think that's just the job.
00:40I think that's football and I'm sure everybody's been through the mill
00:42at the football club as well.
00:44It's not just me. I definitely do feel
00:46the stress and feel like I've aged
00:48but not so much in the past
00:5010 days. It's been quite a nice
00:5210 days. What have been the greatest challenges
00:54your group have faced this season in the league?
00:56I think that
00:58ultimately, you know, making sure
01:00that we rode that storm
01:02early in the season where we only won one in 15 games
01:04and for want of a better phrase
01:06because it's a bit cliche, but stuck together and no one
01:08really lost faith. Everybody
01:10made sure we kept working hard in terms of the players
01:12and kept at it.
01:14We had to change a few things but also
01:16bought into the new way of playing and the new
01:18tactical approach that we decided to take and that was really
01:20important for me that having gone on for
01:22quite a few weeks about a certain playing style
01:24we decided to change and the players took that on board.
01:26So a real level of resilience, a real level
01:28of detail, a real level of dedication I think that
01:30we've had from the players and overall
01:32just I think that last word there
01:34that dedication, dedication to
01:36actually want to improve and want to be better and that's been really
01:38important for us.
01:40I just think the biggest eye-opener for me is the level of physicality.
01:46It's very, very easy when you're watching
01:50televised championship games and you're not involved in it
01:52to see how good the level is and to
01:54have a guess at how your players might fare at that level
01:57and what we've then had is, you know, players making a step up
02:00and really good physical players at League One level that aren't
02:03able to necessarily compete certainly early on at the level
02:06at the level and you think, alright, these were all top-end League One.
02:10All the players last year were top-end League One players that deserve
02:12to win the league and deserve to get out of it
02:14and have a crack in the championship.
02:15So sometimes that was a bit of a rude awakening
02:18and ultimately what that means is I think if you make a mistake
02:21you get punished and we made far too many mistakes, particularly
02:24during the season and away from home.
02:26But yeah, learned the lessons I think and managed to get through it.
02:29As a group, players tend to take most of the acclaim of yourself
02:32and there's a big team behind you like John, Sesh and Joe.
02:35Can you shed a light on their roles and how important they are
02:38to the success of the team?
02:40Yeah, I think there's absolutely no one can do it on their own
02:44and I'm no exception.
02:45We've got a really, really good team behind me,
02:47not just the coaching staff that you mentioned there.
02:49We've got the medical department and the S&C department as well
02:52and, you know, the medical department in particular
02:55have been really busy this year making sure that
02:57when we've picked up the injuries we try to get players back
03:00as quickly as possible and if you look recently at how successful
03:03we've been with the likes of Rob Atkinson coming back
03:06and even Shops coming back at the weekend,
03:08you know, it's been all credit to that department
03:11for making sure we've managed to make that happen
03:13when at times, particularly with those two,
03:16we weren't sure we were going to see them again this season.
03:18So those sort of things, all those small things add up.
03:20I think we've looked like a really fit team
03:22and the S&C department have got a lot to do with that
03:24and ultimately everyone connected to the staff
03:26and at the football club can take a look at the season.
03:29I think give themselves a pat on the back
03:31and I know how everybody is in that coaching room
03:35and is in the staff room, it's going to be a pat in the back
03:37and I think we'll enjoy it for a day and then move on very, very quickly.
03:40We're already talking about what next season looks like
03:42and how many mistakes and how many errors we've made this season
03:45and how many things we need to do better
03:46and there's a long, long list of that
03:48and we want to just keep improving.
03:50Following on from that, how good have the fans been?
03:53Yeah, very, very difficult to put a percentage on it
03:56or very difficult to actually nail down how many points
03:59the fans have probably got for us
04:01but it feels like it's big, it feels like it's really big this season.
04:04The support that we've had has just been immense.
04:06When we've had some of the tough games away from home,
04:08the fans have never turned.
04:10When we had that streak at the beginning of the season,
04:12the fans have never turned.
04:13We lost to Sheffield Wednesday on a Friday night
04:15and it was another loss, another game that we hadn't won at home.
04:19It took us until right up to, I think, that third international break
04:22with the Preston game, the Preston game before.
04:26We went away in November for us to get our first home win
04:29so that takes a lot of patience and a lot of dedication
04:31and I'm very, very grateful for that
04:32because I think the season could have panned out differently
04:34I think if frustrations had boiled over from fans
04:38which we understood and would have been understandable
04:40but stuck by us all the way through
04:42and I thought hopefully towards the back of the season
04:45particularly I've got what we deserved
04:47and I am incredibly grateful for that.
04:49I've spoken about it at length
04:51and I'm incredibly grateful for the amount of support
04:52that I've personally got as well
04:54because ultimately the head coach, the manager
04:56takes the stick and should take responsibility for performances
04:59and there's a couple of moments I've spoken about as well
05:01that really stick out in my mind
05:02that are really important to me at this football club.
05:04When it has been so up and down,
05:05have you changed anything day to day team building-wise
05:08or approach to training or anything like that?
05:11Not really, I mean we've made some tactical changes
05:13that means when you make a tactical change
05:15you tend to have to change what you're doing out on the training pitch
05:18but nothing significant in terms of how we report,
05:23where we come in here to do the same meetings,
05:25when we go out and train, the intensity with which we train
05:28I think it's just been the tactical element of it
05:31and how we're approaching games
05:32and that's just taken something different
05:34it's taken a bit more learning from the boys
05:36and it's definitely taken a bit more work
05:38I think because you have to all of a sudden
05:40probably rip up the rule book
05:42in terms of where we were before
05:43and try and reintroduce new concepts
05:45so yeah, very, very impressed
05:47I think that the lads managed to take that on.
05:49A lot of spoken about the summer
05:51in terms of experience in the squad
05:53so lots of that, Richie and Marlon Pack
05:54how important are they being in the squad?
05:56Yeah, it's been massive for our staff
05:58players that have played in the championship
05:59before and are used to the level
06:00and I think most of all
06:03when you have players at that end of the career
06:05they've been through most of the experiences
06:06that you're suffering through now
06:09whether it's a relegation battle
06:11or at the other end of the table
06:13to have players like Marlon last year
06:15who had experienced promotions before
06:17it's very, very important
06:18particularly as the season goes on
06:20so really, really important for us
06:22to keep some of the young lads going
06:23wouldn't have experienced that before
06:25there's players, the likes of Terry Devlin
06:28has come into the football club
06:29experienced a huge amount of success at Portsmouth
06:31lost five games all of last season
06:34and then all of a sudden
06:35might lose five games in a month
06:36and go away to Stoke and lose 6-1
06:38how do you cope with that?
06:39I think the senior pros
06:40their influence on the younger lads
06:42has been absolutely pivoted
06:43A lot of people have recognised
06:44the improvement in players
06:45like Ron Oglin, Andre Dizel
06:47as the seasons progressed
06:48what do you find to put that down to?
06:49I just put that down to those individual players
06:51and how well they've managed to adjust
06:53because there's plenty of times
06:55I've seen players struggle at a level
06:57and not being able to sort of
06:58catch up to that
06:59and those two I think does
07:01are slightly different
07:02because he's played at a level before
07:03but Conor in particular
07:04having his first foray into
07:06Championship football
07:07very, very tough
07:08first six or seven games
07:09and all of a sudden
07:10there's one that really stands out
07:11in my mind
07:12is Middlesbrough at home
07:13when in my opinion
07:14one of the best wingers in the league
07:15in Ben Doak
07:17Conor had a brilliant game against him
07:19and kept him very quiet
07:20there's been a lot of wingers recently
07:21that have probably faced the same
07:23and Conor's managed to
07:24go and put himself in the game
07:25going forward as well
07:26so the likes of Conor and Andre
07:27they've improved massively
07:28as the season's gone through
07:29and that's been really important for us
07:31as our form's got a bit better
07:32Out of contract players coming up
07:36most notably
07:37you've seen the A&E
07:38Zach Swanson and the like
07:39how do they
07:40appeal to you for this day?
07:41We've got options on
07:45Cassini and Zach's contract
07:47so not quite as out of contract
07:49as other players
07:51or as other players that we've had
07:52in the past
07:53so that gives us
07:55I suppose
07:56the breathing space
07:58we're just going to wait until
07:59Monday on those players
08:00and then make a decision then
08:02And Hull City on Saturday
08:03your team can have a big save
08:04in the relegation zone
08:05is that something you'll use
08:06as motivation?
08:07I think we're just going to make sure
08:10that we try and finish the season
08:11strongly from our own point of view
08:12having gone over the last four games
08:14unbeating
08:15won two and drawn two
08:16and been in a bit better form
08:17because previous to that
08:18we'd lost four and five
08:19and we weren't great
08:20and certainly staring down the barrel
08:21when we faced Derby
08:22so we want to finish the season well
08:24we want to finish the season
08:25in good form
08:26and we want to give the fans
08:27something to sing about
08:28at the weekend
08:29and also maintain the integrity
08:30of the league
08:31because of the fact that it's such a big game
08:32for Hull and all those sides
08:33down the bottom
08:34so we'll approach it
08:35as best as we possibly can
08:36and we'll go and try and win the game
08:38And lastly, what does the off-season look like for you
08:40after Saturday?
08:41Obviously it's time for a well-earned break
08:43but also for a major bit of work in the team
08:44Yeah, they're strange
08:46off-seasons can sometimes be
08:48for me busier than the period
08:50during the season
08:51without the stress
08:52so it's actually quite a nice time
08:53I get to spend a lot of time on recruitment
08:55and a lot of time about
08:56how I think I could improve things
08:58from the coaching side
08:59from the training ground
09:00for facilities-wise
09:01environment
09:02all those sort of things
09:03I get a bit of time to think about that
09:04which is quite enjoyable
09:05so the workload
09:06doesn't really slow down
09:07but the stress
09:08and how difficult it is
09:10I think
09:11to manage the games week to week
09:13that is taken away completely
09:14so
09:15yeah, a little bit of time off
09:17but we've been planning over the past 10 days already
09:20Thank you
09:21Hypothetically
09:22do you often wonder where you'd be in the league
09:24if you had Conor Shocknessy, Colby Bishop and Callum Lang all season?
09:28Yeah, we probably naturally do that
09:31but at the same time
09:32there's also a scenario where
09:34you know, we don't have Colby for as long as we've had him
09:37so we're really grateful to have had him for as long as we've had
09:40Callum
09:41Callum I think ended up playing
09:4328 games or 30-odd games
09:45so we did get a good showing up
09:47Callum
09:48Schultz is the one really
09:49that we anticipated
09:50having signed a new contract in the summer
09:52that
09:53having played 45 games
09:54every single minute of those games
09:55we might have had him
09:56for longer
09:57but
09:58we've also
09:59we've also
10:00again
10:01we've got to temper those ones
10:02because
10:03we've kept Murph fit for
10:04you know
10:05all but five of the games
10:06it's been absolutely crucial for us
10:07I think
10:08and the same with the likes of
10:09Conor Ogil v Nico Schmid
10:11so
10:12it's easy to do that
10:13and to drift into that
10:14but overall I think
10:15we've done enough
10:16and we've had enough luck
10:17with players that have stayed fit
10:18to obviously stay in the league
10:20Does that also show you
10:21that
10:22you could climb even higher
10:23in this league
10:24you're that good?
10:25Yeah
10:26we'll look at
10:27we'll look at this season
10:28regardless of where we finish
10:29and
10:30we'll look at it as
10:31relative
10:32with relative
10:33happiness
10:34and we think it's a
10:35relative success in terms of
10:36where we've finished
10:37but ultimately
10:38we'll look back and think
10:39there's so many points
10:40that we left
10:41on the table
10:42there's so many points
10:43that we could have picked up
10:44by being a bit more detailed
10:45by being a bit more
10:46ruthless towards the back
10:48in the games in particular
10:49and
10:50we don't look at it
10:51and think
10:52I certainly don't look at it
10:53and think
10:54did we take as many points
10:55as we possibly could
10:56I think we've done really well
10:57but I still think
10:58there's some points there
10:59with some very basic things
11:00that we can do better
11:01so
11:02that makes me feel
11:03very very excited
11:04about next season
11:05although we've still got a job
11:06to do to make sure we don't get
11:07too carried away
11:08because ultimately
11:09we're still going to be in
11:10a very very similar position
11:12budget wise
11:13which is absolutely fine
11:14we're going to relish that
11:15but we have to make sure
11:16that we're realistic about that
11:17and
11:18you know prioritize
11:19survival first
11:20and then we'll look to build it
11:21after that.
11:22That's an important mindset isn't it
11:23because
11:24well we're done this season
11:25you want to do even better
11:26you can go even further
11:27don't you?
11:28yeah it's a really
11:30interesting
11:31I guess conundrum
11:32and we're talking about it
11:33internally at the club at the moment
11:34don't mind sharing it with you
11:35is that
11:36we don't want to all of a sudden
11:37think we've cracked it
11:38because the championship's a brutal league
11:39and it bites you very very quickly
11:41so by no means are we saying
11:42okay we're going to
11:43waltz into mid-table obscurity
11:45next season
11:46we know the priority is to stay in the league
11:48so that is the focus
11:49but if we can try and do that
11:50as quickly as possible
11:51and build on that
11:52then I think that gives us
11:53a really good platform
11:54so a very different mindset
11:55than maybe we've had
11:56over the past couple of years
11:57where previously
11:58we knew what the goal was
11:59when it was my first full season
12:01in League One
12:02we knew what the goal was last year
12:03and I think the goal this year
12:04is to make sure we try and improve
12:07on what we do this year
12:08and sometimes that is in league finish
12:10or sometimes it's just
12:11making sure that we are
12:12properly competitive at the level
12:14because there's been too many games
12:15this year we haven't been competitive
12:16The relegation battle is
12:18none of your concern
12:19to be honest anymore
12:20how will you approach
12:21Saturday's game?
12:22We'll approach it as normally as we possibly can
12:28I think mentally the stress of needing a result
12:32has been taken away
12:33and I think that's going to be a positive
12:34so all of a sudden I think
12:35some of the nerves that we've maybe seen
12:37a nervy game against Derby
12:39probably a really nervy game in the second half
12:42against Watford
12:43at times over the past sort of five or six games
12:46forget obviously what happened at Sheffield Wednesday
12:48but time over the past five or six games
12:50where we have looked like a bit of a nervous side
12:52you know going into the second half of games
12:54in particular
12:55Blackburn was another one
12:56where I thought we needed the fans
12:57to get a stew after going 1-0 up
12:59so hopefully that sort of lifts the weight
13:02off everybody's shoulders
13:03and we can perform with a bit more freedom
13:04and ultimately we're going to try and win the game
13:06we know that it's a really important game for Hull
13:08and all the sides down the bottom
13:09and we need to try and maintain the integrity of the league
13:12and try and finish the league with a win
13:14that's the most important thing for us
13:16we've gone for unbeaten
13:17the form's good
13:18and we'll attack the game
13:19You've made a few surprise changes at Sheffield Wednesday
13:21will you look to rotate it again for this game
13:23to give players a chance?
13:24I'm not sure yet
13:25that's a decision we'll make over the next couple of days
13:27but whatever side we go with
13:29we'll think it will be a very very strong side
13:32from our perspective
13:33and we'll go and try and win the game
13:35so you can see we've made a couple of changes
13:37against Sheffield Wednesday
13:38I thought they were for really really good reasons
13:39we're not going to hand out anything for the sake of it
13:41there'll be no sort of charity cases
13:43we certainly want everybody to be competitive
13:45and like I said
13:46making sure we pick our best side to go and win the game
13:48With so many clubs whose presence in the championship
13:51could be influenced by Saturday's resort
13:53will you be competitive for the sake of the league?
13:56I think it's important, yeah
13:57I think it's really important
13:58I think if we were in the same situation
14:00as one of the other clubs
14:01we'd want to make sure we do maintain that competitiveness
14:04and integrity
14:05and to be honest
14:06I expect every single professional footballer to want to win
14:08not just every football game they play
14:09but everything they do
14:10and I think that's the nature of professional athletes
14:13that if you put on a tiddly ring to a darts game
14:16they want to win that as well
14:17so I expect us to be exactly the same in the weekend
14:19we've got precedent for it
14:21you saw how dedicated the lads were at Sheffield Wednesday
14:23last weekend
14:24and if you rewind this time last year
14:26when we went up to Lincoln
14:27a really important game for Lincoln
14:29and the other sides around there
14:30and we've made changes
14:31but still put in a really good performance
14:33Obviously we're telling this is coming out soon
14:35what's the process with that at the moment?
14:37The process will be that we speak
14:40I've been speaking to Rich about this since the end of the season
14:43so Rich and I will keep consulting on it this week
14:45we've spoken to Andy and Tony
14:46we've got a couple of ball calls on Friday
14:48just to finalise everything
14:49and then decisions to players will go out next week
14:52mostly on Monday
14:53You gave new contracts to several players out of contracts a month or so ago
14:59so it's not that many at the moment?
15:00There's not many at all
15:01it's my first summer year
15:03I think there were something like 9 or 10 out of contracts
15:06so it was very very different
15:08a few more last year
15:09but I don't think we've got many at all this year
15:10so I think conversations should be a bit more straightforward
15:13You've made some trusted decisions in this situation over the last few years
15:18are there difficult decisions this time round as well?
15:20They're always difficult decisions
15:21I think when you're thinking about somebody's future as a professional
15:24and as a person as well
15:26we have to try and make the right decisions on balance
15:29and this time last year
15:32I think we came in for a lot of criticism for not taking a couple of players
15:36which was fair
15:38we're always open to that criticism
15:40and we live and die by the decisions we make
15:42and again we have to try and make them right
15:44we do have to try and predict the future with players
15:45and we do have to try and predict what we're going to be able to bring in the window
15:49sometimes you're more successful than not
15:50but unfortunately we have to make those decisions now
15:53before we know what we're going to be able to bring in
15:55Are decisions already been made?
15:56No, no
15:58we've talked about most of them
16:03but we've tried to shield ourselves from that
16:06before we actually get through to the last game
16:08and we do have some more important people than us to speak to on Friday about that as well
16:12so we will do that and then make final decisions on Sunday
16:16and communicate that to players on Monday
16:18Abu Kamara is back at Fratton Park
16:20obviously a huge influence in the promotion season
16:22what sort of reaction do you feel he should get?
16:25I think he should get
16:27well I'd like him to get a nice reception at the start of the game
16:30that's befitting of a player who was a huge part of what we managed to achieve last year
16:34when we were in the league
16:35and then I would like it to be a very, very hostile atmosphere for him
16:37not because he's Abu Kamara
16:39but because he's a whole player and he is on the opposition
16:42which I would like everyone to have
16:44I don't want it to be too nice for him
16:46but I certainly count him as somebody that should for that season
16:51go down as certainly one of the best players last season
16:55one of the best players that Portsmouth has had on loan
16:57I think in modern history
17:00so over the past say even you know 15-20 years
17:02he'd set me up there
17:03considering he was a first loan
17:05as a bit of a gamble
17:07probably as a fourth choice winger to do as well as he did last year
17:09absolutely filled for him
17:10and I hope he has a really poor game for our sake of the weekend
17:13Was he ever close to coming back?
17:15No, we were always interested
17:17we always would have taken him back if we had the opportunity
17:19but I don't know the ins and outs and I think that the transfer fee reported was largely accurate
17:25and that puts us way out of the running
17:27so it wasn't a case if I'd been turning Portsmouth down at all
17:30he got a very good move to pull off the back of what he'd done last season
17:35and fully deserved it
17:37and yeah the figures that were talked about were certainly not what we'd be able to pay
17:42Obviously very different to the Alex Robertson situation
17:44Yeah you know and again there's players make decisions based on all the facts they've got in front of them
17:51and you know for the benefit of hindsight
17:54you can look back and think about all of these things as a player and as a club
17:58it's very difficult
18:00I've been in that situation as a player
18:02you just don't know right
18:03you make the decision based on all of the factors in front of you
18:06you can say what you want about Alex
18:08I know that it wasn't driven by finance
18:10it wasn't driven by money
18:12I spoke to him about that
18:14he was very very honest with me about his expectations
18:17and where he wanted to go as a footballer
18:20and look sometimes it works out sometimes it doesn't
18:22so you know what you can do
18:23all I know about those two players
18:25those two lads is that when they were here
18:27they gave absolutely everything for Portsmouth
18:29and I'm very appreciative of that
18:31In terms of injuries any change in situation?
18:34there's no one out so no new players out
18:37we trained with a lot of players today
18:39so we trained with about 26 players today
18:41because Abandon and Paddy trained
18:42so that was really good news from our point of view
18:45we've managed to get them back out in the grass
18:47slightly modified session but really positive for the pair of them
18:50and we're looking to have them back pre-season
18:52now there'll be a bit more of an elongated summer for them
18:55and less rest than everybody else
18:56but I'm really pleased to have them back
18:58and overall it looks like in this stage of the season
19:01we've got the highest number of players available
19:03that we probably haven't had all year
19:05so the fittest squad we've had
19:07well with Paddy and Boat
19:09they will presumably follow a programme during the closed season
19:12yeah so it'll be a programme about making sure
19:14that they keep going with the strength
19:15and the recovery from the injury
19:17but they're obviously training now
19:18so they're close to being fully fit without playing the games
19:21and so it'll be a bit sort of late stage rehab for them
19:24and probably come back a week or two earlier than everyone else
19:26and Zach Swanson you said he had a knock last week
19:29yeah so Zach's still struggling with that
19:32so he's had a knock to his heel
19:33so I'm unlikely to see Zach at the weekend
19:35no change there
19:36thank you
19:37thank you