Portsmouth boss responds to keeper criticism as he readies for new battle for No1 spot
Will Norris has been backed in the face of early-season criticism after Pompey’s Championship emergence.
And John Mousinho has lauded the keeper’s man-of-the-match statement against Luton Town, as he prepares for a new battle for his No1 spot,
Norris was outstanding in Saturday’s 0-0 draw, making a string of first-half saves to keep his team in the game.
The 31-year-old denied Elijah Adebayo and Carlton Morris, before stunning Adebayo with a full-length fling across his goal to keep out the former Bognor man’s close-range header.
Norris has been the subject of some fan flak, despite playing a crucial role in Pompey’s title success last season and being named in the EFL League One team of the season.
The former Peterborough endured a difficult pre-season with multiple errors in warm-ups against Wycombe and Charlton, but hasn’t been culpable for any of the four goals conceded in competitive action.
Norris retains the support of Mousinho, however, with Austrian Nicolas Schmid set to arrive and up the goalkeeper competition.
He said: ‘I think when you step up a level and concede a couple of goals there’s always going to be people who microanalyse goals.
‘We look at it and ask is there anything else we can do? The goalkeeper department is the most critical of themselves and they always look at what can be done better.
‘But, to be honest, Will is a huge part of what we’re trying to achieve. He was in teams of the year for League One last season and he was right up there in terms of his performances week in, week out.
‘He gives us so much in terms of being in possession and he came up with crucial saves against Luton, so hopefully he takes a huge amount of confidence from that.’
Norris’ performance against Luton was a central factor in Pompey coming out of the game with a share of the spoils.
There were similar moments against Leeds and Millwall in the Carabao Cup, with Mousinho acknowledging such interventions will be key this season.
He added: ‘That’s going to be really important.
‘There’s going to be sides who come here or times when we go away from home when we are going to rely on Will to keep us in the game.
‘We obviously want to defend a bit better, but there are sides with a lot of quality in the Championship.
‘We want our goalkeeper to be right on top of his game and Will was against Luton.
‘We’re really pleased for Will and it was thoroughly deserved in terms of his picking up man of the match. He was a spectator for the last 60 minutes, but I was really happy for him.’