‘Clubs looking at him’: Call made on Portsmouth boss’ future amid Bristol City and Stoke City interest
A call made on John Mousinho’s future and the prospect of continuing interest from Championship clubs.
John Mousinho will remain in demand after generating interest from Championship rivals this summer.
The Pompey boss is likely to be eyed by other second tier clubs, as he performs ‘beyond expectations’ at Fratton Park.
Pundit on Mousinho: ‘His budget is quite low, he’s done a remarkable job’
That’s the verdict of pundit and former Crystal Palace and Hull City boss, Iain Dowie, who can see why Mousinho has been attracting admiring glances in recent months.
Bristol City showed interest in the 40-year-old, before turning to Michael Skubala to succeed temporary boss Roy Hodgson at Ashton Gate.
And The News reported last month Mousinho was on Stoke City’s radar, as they considered the future of Mark Robins.
Dowie feels that of little surprise after Pompey’s head coach guided his team to the League One title and kept them in the Championship for two years.
The former striker knows Mousinho’s success at Fratton Park has arrived despite him operating with modest resources compared to the sides he’s competing with.
Dowie branded his efforts at PO4 ‘remarkable’ given the ‘low budget’ he’s been afforded, with that putting other clubs on alert to secure his services.
Speaking to Betano Casino, Dowie said: ‘They’ve gone with Michael Skubala, but you can see why John Mousinho was linked to Bristol City. Mousinho has done an incredible job on a small budget.
‘He’s kept them up there for two years in a row, achieving beyond expectations despite people being sceptical early on.
‘They have that Disney connection, but his budget is actually quite low. He’s done a remarkable job and a lot of clubs will be looking at him. He is a very good fellow.
‘Portsmouth is a massively well-supported club. People have a lot of respect for what Mousinho has done without great backing. Compared to the budgets at Birmingham or Norwich, he hasn't had that.
‘I think he'd be in the shake-up at Bristol City, where they went with Skubala, who's done a great job at Lincoln. So, it's fascinating to see. Do I think he’ll be in the frame for other jobs? I do.’
Mousinho has been up front about his Pompey future amid Bristol City’s interest, with the Blues boss due to address the press when his players return to training later this month.
The Blues boss spoke about his position at the end of April, ahead of his side’s final-day meeting with Birmingham City.
He said then: ‘I answered a question on this early on in my tenure as a supporters’ conference.
‘We’d had that good start and were in the midst of that 27-game unbeaten run. It’s popped up a couple of times since, but never a huge amount.
‘In these moments either way your legacy and how you’re seen by the fans is defined by your answer.
‘So if I said I want to be at Portsmouth for the rest of my life and there’s no interest in anything else, which has happened before and is really damaging - I think that is actually really disrespectful to the fans.
‘I would never want to do that, I would never want to lie and I would never want to say I’m here for life.
‘I absolutely love the football club, I make no bones about that. I love living here and you’ll see more walking up and down Palmerston (Road) with my family and dog.
‘I love living here, but I don’t know what the future holds.
‘It’s always complex, it’s not just I’m leaving and that’s it. It doesn’t work like that and vice-versa the club can get rid of me pretty much whenever they want.
‘That’s what I’d say. I’m not sitting here actively looking to leave whatsoever. I want to progress the club.
‘We’ve managed to achieve something this year and I want to build on that next year.
‘By the same token I don’t want to disrespect the fans and mug them off - I don’t think that’s the right thing to do.’