Portsmouth boss John Mousinho makes intriguing Burnley admission amid terrible Turf Moor record
Pompey make the long trip to face early Championship strugglers Burnley on Saturday.
John Mousinho has made it clear Pompey’s Championship encounter against Burnley will be far from plain sailing, despite the Clarets’ early-season struggles.
And the Blues boss has admitted the Turf Moor outfit’s year-long winless streak on home soil has to ‘be broken at some point’.
It’s been a surprisingly poor start to the campaign for the Lancashire side, who currently occupy a place in the relegation zone ahead of Pompey’s trip this Saturday.
The Belgian has since been replaced by former CSKA Moscow and FC Basel boss Fabio Celestini, who is expected to be in the dugout to face Mousinho’s troops.
In contrast, Pompey are enjoying a brilliant run of form and travel to Turf Moor sitting two points outside of the play-offs, after losing just one of the previous eight matches.
But despite Burnley’s league position, the Blues boss is wary of the threat in Celestini’s side and feels Saturday’s contest will be a ‘really tough test’.
John Mousinho’s Burnley admission ahead of Pompey trip
When asked whether it would be a good time to play the Clarets, Mousinho told The News: ‘No, I don’t think so. I don’t think there’s any good time to play Burnley, particularly after you make the managerial change.
‘It wouldn't have made a difference if they hadn’t made the change, I still think it would’ve been a really tough test.
‘They’re littered with talented players as they’ve shown not consistently enough from their perspective this season can really go and do damage like they did up at Watford.
‘They’ve had a couple of home games as well where they were slightly unlucky, conceding late. I still think they’re a real threat and we’ll have to be right on top of our game.
‘I wouldn’t have predicted it (where they are in the league) at the start of the season. With the players that they have and everything the club has at its disposal.
‘So I do expect them to climb the league and climb the table but hopefully that doesn’t start at the weekend.’
Burnley’s 12-month winless record at Turf Moor
Pompey make the trip to Turf Moor this weekend with Burnley in the midst of a terrible run of form at Turf Moor.
The Clarets are winless in more than a year on home soil, with their last victory coming on October 18, 2025 against Leeds United in the Premier League.
Mousinho, however, has conceded that record will inevitably come to an end and has made it clear his troops will have to be at their best.
‘It’ll be broken at some point, right? We’ve just got to do our best.
‘It’s nothing to do with us what’s happened at Burnley over the past year but we’ve just got to make sure that we’re focused, we have to make sure that we stay on top of our game, make sure we block everything out in terms of the reaction from the home fans.
‘There’ll be a bit of excitement and a bit of a different atmosphere around the place but we’ve got to go and cope with that and deal with it.’