Portsmouth boss makes position clear over Bristol City role as rivals eye Gerhard Struber's long-term successor
Bristol City are on the lookout for a new boss this season, with some Pompey fans seeing John Mousinho as a natural target. The Blues head coach give his response over the Ashton Gate post.
John Mousinho has played down talk of a Pompey exit for Bristol City.
The Blues boss made it clear he’s focussed on the job of keeping his side in the Championship - and is not trying to engineer a Fratton exit.
Pompey boss on Bristol City: ‘There’s been no contact at all’
Mousinho confirmed there’s been no approach for his services with six games remaining this term, but underlined he has no control over what occurs further down the line.
Bristol City will be on the lookout for a long-term successor to Gerhard Struber this summer, with former England boss Roy Hodgson in interim charge at Ashton Gate.
Some Pompey fans can see a potential pathway to the Robins moving for their head coach, after a successful three years at Fratton Park.
But Mousinho stressed his eyes are firmly on what’s required to keep his club in the second tier with six games to go.
He said: ‘I’ve had absolutely no contact from anyone.
‘I’m fully focussed on the job here, any of those rumours are just that - rumours.
‘There’s absolutely nothing in them, I’m more than happy to stand up and say that because it’s the truth.
‘My job here right now is to do my best to keep the club in the Championship, that’s the most important thing.
‘Any outside distractions are no good for anyone, but thankfully that’s not happened (any approach).
‘That’s great, while Bristol City have a very good manager in place who’s picked up two wins in two.
‘My focus is on the next six games here. There’s been no contact at all.’
Bristol City are currently in the process of appointing a new sporting director, with that having a clear knock-on effect over who will take the club forward on the pitch after Struber’s exit last month.
Mousinho would be a natural consideration for that role, given his work in winning League One and keeping Pompey in the Championship last term.
Mousinho doesn’t ‘know what’s going to happen in the future’
The 39-year-old promised he’s not angling for a departure, however, with his standing tied to how this season pans out at PO4.
Mousinho added: ‘It’s never crossed my radar that in the next six games there’s going to be something I want to pursue outside of Portsmouth.
‘I’m not trying to line up an exit and I’m not trying to escape, but I haven’t got a crystal ball and don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.
‘I think it’s one of those that if rumours are flying around I suppose it’s a nice compliment, but I sit here and I feel the biggest thing is where we are as a group and football club right now is a reflection on me and how I’m doing, so I want to be better at that and make sure we’re better as a football club.
‘I want to try to help the football club. I’ve been here for so long now, so I feel a huge responsibility to make sure we do things properly and stay in the league.’