Portsmouth boss pinpoints key turning point in Championship survival fight with Hull City, Luton Town & Co

The Blues boss feels the crucial win over Cardiff City on Tuesday night, offered clear evidence he now possesses the options to take on their rivals.

And that is offering cause for optimism about what can be achieved by the players at Mousinho’s disposal, over the remainder of the season.

Pompey may not be on a level playing field when it comes to the spending power of many of their rivals, who’ve spent millions in the winter window.

But Mousinho believes the fact his options are much stronger after the business conducted in January and February, isn’t up for question.

All of the subs entering the fray made a difference at Fratton Park against the Bluebirds, with Terry Devlin impressing after he replaced Zak Swanson at half-time.

Hayden Matthews replaced the injured Conor Shaughnessy after an hour and looked composed with Adil Aouchiche making some eye-catching contributions. Marlon Pack provided midfield stability, while Cohen Bramall pepped up the left flank when legs tired late on.

Those kind of options haven’t been there this term, with Mousinho often limiting his changes from the subs’ bench as a result. That isn’t the case now, however, and is a big difference maker in the eyes of the Pompey boss.

Mousinho said: ‘We’re really pleased.

‘We’ve got three really good right-backs at the level. Terry (Devlin) came on against Cardiff and gave us something different while Hayden (Matthews) came on and slotted in well in a high-pressure environment. That was excellent.

‘Then with the other substitutions we saw some brilliant moments from Adil (Aouchiche), nice touches and he looked athletic and willing to get forward. Marlon (Pack came on and steadied the ship then Cohen (Bramall) came on and provided a huge amount of energy down that left-hand side. That was another great option to have

‘We’ve been relatively settled with the team over the past few weeks and players have deserved to keep their spots.

‘It’s very competitive in the forward area. If you look at the centre-forwards we’ve got, how good Callum Lang’s been and Adil coming in as a 10. There’s other options with Christian playing in there and scoring a couple of goals. It’s a real interesting one and very competitive one.’