Portsmouth boss on why worried Championship clubs have scrapped their Fratton Park battle plans
The Blues have taken 22 points at home this season - the 19th lowest in the Championship
John Mousinho is convinced fear factor is driving sides to sacrifice their attacking instincts when visiting Fratton Park this season.
Now Pompey must find a way of breaking down the new-found mindset of visiting teams - starting with tonight’s visit of Swansea (7.45pm).
The Blues boasted the eighth-best home record in the Championship last season, proving to be a pivotal factor in securing their survival with two matches to spare.
This term, they have won just six of their 19 fixtures at Fratton Park in all competitions to date, with a haul of 22 points putting them 19th in a comparable table.
That disappointment is epitomised by the recent 1-0 defeats against Sheffield United and Hull, when Pompey dominated both matches yet finished pointless.
And Mousinho believes sides have changed their playing approach when venturing to the south coast this season.
‘Last year sides would come and attack us at home’
He told The News: ‘You need a bit of luck, sometimes things don’t go your way, but I genuinely think the performance levels, particularly over the past two-and-a-half months, at home and away from home have been good - and that means, in the short-term, we will get our rewards.
‘On both occasions against Sheffield United and Hull, we were kicking ourselves in the manner the goal was conceded. In those sorts of games, when the opposition make it really difficult for us to break them down, you have to find a way. Although we did more than enough in both games to score.
‘It’s a positive and we have to find a way to try to break those sides down and try to do something slightly differently. Whereas last year, sides would come and attack us at home, they would have that real focus on keeping the ball.
‘If you look at the Hull game - and Sheffield United to a certain extent. United started the match and played a bit, then, after 10 minutes, decided they weren't going to play and would go a bit more different.
‘Hull from the start were very, very direct and didn't try to play from goal kicks, didn’t try to play from the goalkeeper’s hands, and obviously did it effectively. So we’ve definitely had a different dynamic when facing sides at home.
‘That’s a really frustrating one. I don’t think that’s going to be the case against Swansea, they will come and play their own game, they are one of the sides which will do that regardless.
‘So that will be a really interesting game for us, a completely different dynamic, and I think that’s quite an exciting one.’
Four wins on the road this season for Portsmouth
While the Blues have collected six wins at Fratton Park this season - they have totalled four on their travels.
That represents an encouraging return for a club which won just twice on the road last term - Oxford United and Norwich.
And how they need to raise their productivity on home soil to match that improvement as Pompey chase Championship survival.
Mousinho added: ‘If we had put together last season's home form and mixed it with this season’s away form, we’d probably be comfortable in mid-table.
‘We have picked up four wins away from home, which is more than we had the entirety of last season. The away form in general has been a lot better, we’ve been a lot more solid, taking the Bristol City game out of it.
‘We are in a much better spot, we just have to start trying to match some of that away form with what have been good performances at home.
‘Hull and Sheffield United were probably two of our best performances of the season at home, but we need to match up the performance with the result.’