Portsmouth begin search for key John Mousinho backroom staff appointment

Pompey are looking to bolster John Mousinho’s backroom team.

Keen to provide the head coach with as much support as possible for the club’s third season in the Championship, the Blues are currently targeting a first-team set-piece and training analyst to join their ranks.

Set-pieces are currently overseen by League Two title-winning captain Michael Doyle, who was appointed in August 2025.

The Irishman’s Fratton Park return saw him take over set-piece responsibilities from Joe Prodomo, whose full focus now is on his goalkeeping coaching.

This season has seen Pompey concede just once from either a free-kick or an opposition corner, with Bristol City’s Josh Knight’s effort securing a 2-1 win for the Robins at Ashton Gate on August 29.

At the other end, three goals can be attributed to dead-ball situations. Adrian Segecic’s opener against West Ham was a result of a corner, the Croatia international’s free-kick against Lincoln set the Blues on their way to victory at Sincil Bank, while Tyrese Shade’s long throw presented Conor Shaughnessy with the chance to head home during the 2-0 win against Cardiff at Fratton Park.

Pompey’s set-piece capabilities came in for some flak last season, though, as they struggled in both defence and attack.

Indeed, 21 goals were conceded from set-pieces during the 2025-26 campaign, with only Watford (24) surrendering more. Meanwhile, the 15 goals scored from set-piece routines ranked the Blues mid-table in that specific area.

It’s clearly an area that can make or break a club’s season, with Arsenal’s Premier League success last term often attributed to the work done by specialist coach Nicolas Jover on these dead-ball routines. Indeed, the Gunners scored 29 (PL highest) and conceded just eight (PL lowest) thanks to Jover’s coaching.

Now Pompey are keen to devote more of their resources to set-pieces, with a job advertisement currently requesting applicants to apply for the role.

According to a post on Linkedin, the successful candidate will work closely with Mousinho, Doyle and the wider coaching staff and players.

They will also be expected to deliver high-quality video and data analysis to support performance and inform decision-making, with a particular focus on training and set pieces.

It’s essential that those interested have experience in performance analysis within professional football, elite sport, or a comparable high-performance environment; have an undergraduate degree or equivalent professional experience in a relevant discipline such as sports science, performance analysis or related fields; and have a strong understanding of current set-piece trends in both the EFL Championship & wider footballing world.

Pompey are yet to appoint a successor to Zesh Rehman, who left his role as first-team development coach last December.