‘Nothing close to feeling I’m getting’: Portsmouth boss sets sights on Southampton
The South Coast Derby is back in the league for the first time in 13 years - and Pompey boss John Mousinho can feel the intensity of what is to come as he develops an increasingly close connection with the city.
John Mousinho believes leading Pompey into south coast battle with Southampton will be a ‘special’ moment in his management career - the kind he’s never faced before.
And the Blues boss feels his growing synergy with the city his football club represents is allowing him to sense the size of the occasion on the horizon, as the two fierce rivals prepare to collide once again.
Pompey boss: ‘I absolutely love leading this club anywhere’
The south coast derby returns this season, with Mousinho’s men going into enemy territory for the first time in 13 years on September 14.
The match was the first supporters looked for when the Championship fixtures were released last month, with the opening chapter taking place just five league games into the season.
The clash was today confirmed as being shown live free-to-air on ITV, as well as Sky Sports broadcasting the high noon showdown.
Mousinho admitted he can already sense the anticipation around Portsmouth at what lies ahead, with the head coach acknowledging he’s never stepped into a derby of the intensity he will face.
And that is an occasion the 39-year-old is ready to tackle head on, as he becomes increasingly embedded in his football club’s psyche.
Mousinho said: It’s going a big, big game for everyone involved.
‘The amount of time the two sides have spent apart, in terms of leagues, is far too long for Portsmouth fans to be comfortable with.
‘This is one, ever since I joined the club, people have been speaking about and looking forward to.
‘It nearly happened last year, but the result in the play-off final went the other way. Now we’ve managed to stay in the league and it’s a really good and amazing fixture for us to be involved in, as someone who’s not been involved in a derby like this before.
‘Even in my playing career the closest I probably came was when Preston played Blackpool, but I don’t think there’s anything close to the feeling I’m getting here.
‘I’m really looking forward to it and it’s coming really early, which I know is a massive boost for fans. I know it’s the first two fixtures everyone looks for.
‘I absolutely love leading this club anywhere, but it will be particularly special for the fans. If it’s a special one for the fans, then it is definitely a special one for myself as well.
‘When you’re this far into being employed by a football club, two-and-a-half years in, you start to feel a lot of the things fans feel: It’s something which is really exciting me.’
Mousinho: ‘Extra spice and intensity to it’
It’s been five years since Pompey and Southampton met in Carabao Cup action, with the visitors coming away 4-0 winners on a night remembered for the incessant backing of the Fratton Faithful.
Then there were the two draws in the 2010-11 Championship season, with the Blues finding themselves in financial but still picking up a 2-2 draw at St Mary’s Stadium,
Before that, there was the 4-1 2005 Demolition Derby victory as Southampton were relegated from the Premier League, with Pompey repeating the scoreline in the FA Cup five years later.
Mousinho feels the distance between the last league meeting and this term adds to what is to come this term.
He added: ‘It’s an interesting one, because obviously over the past however many years it hasn’t been a league fixture.
‘I don’t know about the perception externally because with the other derbies you’re exposed to it every year. You’re exposed to Celtic v Rangers and Spurs v Arsenal.
‘I don’t know if it’s drifted from people’s psyche a bit, but it adds some extra spice and intensity to it.
‘I know it will for us. The entirety of the League One season and us getting promoted to the Championship meant there was the prospect of that fixture happening.
‘Then all last season we had fans singing about it every week so we know what the build-up is internally.
‘I don’t know how it is going to be viewed externally, all I know is there is a lot of excitement about it around the city for that fixture.
‘But we have to temper that and make sure it’s not the be all and end all, because we have the Oxford game and others coming after to focus on first.’