New Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho jokes no 'clear the air talks' were needed after meeting Blues players for first time following Oxford exit

The now former Oxford United and Burton skipper said there was no need to go over old ground about any historic antics on the pitch as he packed away his boots to take charge at Fratton Park.

Mousinho quipped that he and Ronan Curtis had been involved in a ‘few run-ins’ down the years.

But he said that type of passion was exactly what he wanted to see from his players – within reason.

The new Blues boss was asked about past battles after striker Joe Pigott revealed Mousinho ‘used to pinch me when I played against him’ at the most recent meeting of the Chichester Pompey Supporters’ Club.

He met his inherited squad for the first time today as he got to work in preparing the side for Exeter’s visit to Fratton Park on Saturday.

Mousinho said good conversations were had with the group, but not everybody on an individual basis.

And while he told many that he was glad to no longer be up against them on the pitch, he joked there was no need to clear up any past comings together.

‘I had quite a few interesting conversations with the players first thing,’ said Mousinho.

‘And my message was: “I’m really glad I’m your head coach and not having to play against you’.

‘So with the likes of Colby (Bishop) and the likes of Joe (Pigott), it’s quite nice to have them at my disposal rather than playing against them.

‘No clear the air talks have been needed! I had a few run-ins with Ronan down through the years and I think there’s a picture circulating on social media about that.

‘But I think that’s great. What do we want to see here? We want to see a bit of passion, players who care and any player I feel through their career who I had a run in with, yeah, I quite like that.

‘You’ve got to make sure you temper it at some point and don’t take it over the top.

‘Funnily enough, I had a couple of those conversations this morning.

‘We spoke to the players as a group, first of all, and obviously it’s been a whirlwind of a day, but I’ve tried to speak to as many players individually as possible whilst picking the team and taking training as well.

‘These things will come. We’ve got a busy week next week as well, where I’ll have a bit more time on the away trips to sit down with the players.

‘And I might steal your phrase: ‘clear the air talks’ if I feel there are any issues.

I suppose it’s one of the nuances of brining someone in whose played so recently.’