Portsmouth boss’ verdict on his rising stock amid Bristol City interest
Three weeks ago Pompey were on the verge of dropping into the Championship bottom three, now John Mousinho’s managerial status is on a high amid Bristol City’s interest.
John Mousinho acknowledged the fine margins between his stock rising and plummeting as his standing in the game accelerates amid Bristol City’s interest.
And the Pompey boss insisted he doesn’t think he’s ‘cracked it’ in football management, after a third successful campaign at Fratton Park.
Mousinho: ‘I’m still the same coach and manager’
Mousinho’s status in the game is on the up after keeping the Blues in the second tier for a third campaign, off the back of lifting the League One title.
It was looking a very different story a few weeks ago, however, with Pompey winless in eight and looking bound for the drop zone on numerous occasions.
Relegation would’ve had serious repercussions for Mousinho’s prospects and how he’s perceived, with Bristol City admiration for the 40-year-old consequently surfacing.
The Pompey head coach gave an insight into his psyche which has kept him on an even keel through the season’s drama.
Mousinho said: ‘My focus is always on winning football matches. Whatever comes off the back of that is a consequence of the success of the football club.
‘If you start looing at things which aren’t necessarily there it doesn’t work out particularly well.
‘My take is my objective is to try to get out of League One, which we did pretty quickly. Then it was let’s stay in the Championship for a couple of years and go from there.
‘I’ve really enjoyed it. People talk about the position I’m in now but I’m no different as a coach to how I was six weeks ago - when I was probably being battered from pillar to post!
Pompey boss: ‘I’m not thinking all of a sudden we’ve cracked it’
‘We’d not won in eight and we’d lost 6-1 to QPR, but I was the same person then and the same coach.
‘It’s a really important point that at Norwich Marlon (Pack) doesn’t get sent off in the first half, we get back into the game and deserve it.
‘Oxford all the luck went against us and we deserved the result, but off the back of that we got to Boro it’s backs to the wall and we get the three points.
‘I think it’s that which gets us the result against Ipswich, which gives us the momentum.
‘Then the penalty isn’t given against Leicester and we make some heroic blocks on the line. Everything is then starting to click for us.
‘Performances were indifferent, I’m not sure if they were any better than QPR, to be honest or better than Hull, Sheffield United, Preston.
‘We got a bit of the rub of the green, but I’m still the same coach and manager. I’ve tried to be as consistent as possible.’
Despite perceptions swinging wildly Mousinho feels taking the middle ground has worked well for him, with the Pompey boss hoping for longevity in the game from not necessarily being too reactionary.
He added: ‘In the international break we did make changes, but they weren’t wholesale changes.
‘We got back out on the grass and said this is how we’ve done things and we’re going to stick by that.
‘We made a couple of tweaks, but we said that we’re a good team.
‘We got a bit of luck off the back of that and things went for us over the last seven games of the season, which hadn’t gone for us previously.
‘We got ourselves out of it and we deserved to do it.
‘What I tried to do when I was in the midst of the relegation battle was say I’m not the world’s worst coach and I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. The truth is somewhere in the middle and that’s an important point to try to stick to.
‘That’s what gets you longevity in football and I’d like to manage for a long time and the experience I’ve had here is with longevity at the football club.’