Portsmouth boss’ contract message with futures of Swanson, Bramall & Co still to be decided

And the Blues boss promised those who warrant a Fratton future will be rewarded by being handed new deals.

The club have moved to secure assets in recent weeks, with news of agreements being reached for Terry Devlin, Colby Bishop and Regan Poole to remain at PO4.

Announcing deals during the season is a departure from the club’s previously established policy of not confirming agreements until the summer.

Mousinho feels the club are doing the right thing protecting their assets, even if it remains unclear what lies ahead for others.

Zak Swanson, Cohen Bramall, Ben Killip, Anthony Scully, Tom Lowery, Andre Dozzell, Alexander Milosevic and Kusini Yengi all have deals coming to a close, though Mousinho has indicated Yengi’s option will be taken up and Dozzell has an automatic 12-month extension if Pompey remain in the Championship.

The uncertainty for the other players could potentially be unsettling, though Mousinho said they are welcome to engage in dialogue with the club over their futures.

He said: ‘Players have all got agents, players can come and speak to me, players can come and speak to Rich (Hughes).

‘They can do that themselves or they can do it through agents.

‘If players think they deserve new contracts, they are more than welcome to pick up the phone and start negotiating.

‘That’s absolutely fine, we’ll always be open and honest with players.

‘We want to protect assets and we want to reward players who’ve done well and earned those contracts, but we’re not in the business of handing out contracts for the sake of it.

‘The most important thing is, first and foremost, to protect the long-term assets of the football club, and if we need to do that in the season we’re more than happy to do that.’

Although Mousinho is happy to talk to players who are searching for clarity over their futures, the Pompey boss made it clear it’s not for him to get involved in the minutiae of contract negotiations.

Mousinho: nothing to do with me

He added: ‘It’s genuinely something that I don’t have to deal with a huge amount.

‘I do have some base level conversations in terms of the players we want to keep. They are very simple conversations around is it a yes or is it a no.

‘Then the negotiations beyond that, the strategy around that and strategy around when we take an option, the length of contract and level of remuneration - that’s nothing to do with me.

‘I think that’s the right way to do it.

‘That’s much more about squad building and protecting assets, so that’s why we have that structure within the football club to do that.

‘I think that feeds in really well for me to concentrate on the day-to-day coaching.’

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