'Draw you own conclusions' - Portsmouth fans told why John Mousinho hasn't shot down talk of Fratton Park exit amid Stoke City and Bristol City links
John Mousinho has the capacity to shoot down exit talk, leading members of the Fratton faithfu to ask - why doesn’t he?
John Mousinho isn’t in a position to shoot down talk of a potential Pompey exit this summer.
That’s the difficult truth The News’ Jordan Cross has delivered to the Fratton faithfiul as the uncertainty around the Blues head coach’s future continues.
Ever since guiding the PO4 club to Championship safety last month, Mousinho remaining on the south coast has been a hot topic.
The 40-year-old was on Bristol City’s radar as they searched for a permanent successor to Gerard Struber, with Bournemouth assistant manager Tommy Elphick now expected to fill that vacancy following a lengthy process.
The News learned this week that fellow Championship side Stoke City are interested in the former Oxford United defender as they weigh up parting company with Mark Robins.
Meanwhile, all the ambiguity was initiated by Mousinho himself as he sought reassurances from the club’s owners about their ambitions moving forward after a second successive season fending off the threat of Championship relegation.
Further uncertainity was then accompanied by the head coach’s decision not to speak to the media for a traditional end-of-season wrap-up once the dust had settled on the campaign just finished.
Amongst it all, Pompey chief executive Andy Cullen has on several occasions told The News that no approaches have been made for their highly-regarded boss, with the latest coming on Friday.
However, at no point have the club rubbished talk of a potential exit and insisted the head coach was going nowhere.
Mousinho has also failed to do that to date. And according to Cross, there’s a clear reason for that.
Why Mousinho hasn’t shut down exit talk
The Pompey writer was asked specifically why Mousinho hasn’t come out to deny the talk and commit his future to the club during a Facebook Live update on Friday.
It’s something many members of the Fratton faithful have asked as they get sick and tired of the situation.
In response, Cross laid bare the cold, hard facts of the matter.
He said: ‘John has kept his own counsel through this, and we've seen that.
‘We were due to speak to him off the back of the Birmingham game, and probably (him cancelling that) does tell you that he can't come out.
‘He’s been extensively honest with The News over the last couple of weeks of the season about his situation and that he's not going to be here forever.
‘It probably tells you that there's something going on, that there is interest, and he doesn't want it to come out.
‘Just like Andy (Cullen) said, he can't speak for John. (And) John can't really shoot it down either because there are things going on in the background.
‘That doesn't mean that there's been any official approaches. That doesn't mean that Andy Cullen's speaking to other clubs. That would happen in effect if there was to be an exit for John Mousinho. The approach would come very late in the day, so there's no lies from Andy Cullen.
‘And as I say all the time, there's intermediares speaking and conversations going on between potential suitors. I don't think you're going to see John Mousinho come out and shoot this down.
‘He could do, but for that reason you can probably draw your own conclusions on that. And that was a point I was going to pick up on, he’s not really in a position, if we're very honest, to shoot it down. ‘
Cross added The News weren’t deliberately stirring things up - as they’ve been accused of by many frustrated onlookers.
‘We're duty-bound to report this information that we're getting. We're not enjoying it. I'm sick to death of it. (too). I want John to stay,’ said Cross.
‘This saga's going on and on. But all the time we're getting these new reports, and all the time John's doing well, I think it's just going to happen.
‘We're going to see these stories come up, unless he does, at some point in his future, decide that he does come out and shoot this down.’
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