‘If you can keep Mousinho’: Portsmouth Premier League icon’s message as boss remains after Bristol City and Stoke City interest
The former Pompey Premier League striker has his say on his old club and John Mousinho staying at PO4.
And the Blues’ hierarchy has been praised for showing faith in their head coach, as they stuck with Mousinho through some testing moments last term.
Sheringham on Pompey keeping Mousinho: ‘Bodes well for football club’
Premier League great and former Fratton striker, Teddy Sheringham, feels his old club reaped the benefits of not pulling the trigger on the 40-year-old across some challenging periods.
Pompey will begin their third campaign at Championship level in August, after producing a powerful run with the pressure on in April.
Three huge wins over Middlesbrough, Ipswich Town and relegation rivals Leicester City did the job at a big moment, with Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday and the Foxes succumbing to relegation.
It means only Wrexham’s Phil Parkinson has been in his managerial role longer in the Championship, with Mousinho’s Fratton stay now extending to three-and-a-half years.
That stay now looks set to continue after a summer where Bristol City considered the former Oxford United man for their hot-seat, after Roy Hodgson left his temporary role.
Meanwhile, The News reported last month Stoke City were considering Mousinho as a potential successor for under-fire boss Mark Robins.
In the event, Robins has remained with Arsenal’s Max Porter brought in to assist him, and the Robins turning to Michael Skubala.
From Sheringham’s point of view, Mousinho remaining amid interest in his services shapes up positively for Pompey moving forward.
Speaking to ComeOn, Sheringham said: ‘If you can keep a manager like John Mousinho at a club like Pompey, you’re doing okay. I think it only bodes well for the football club.
‘It’s about consistency, so long as people are doing the right jobs in the right way.
‘Just sacking people for the sake of it doesn’t move a club forward.
‘You need to know all about the characters in your team, understand them after six months, 12 months, 18 months, and the move you know about them, the more you know about how to make the most of what you have at the football club.
Sheringham arrived at Pompey ahead of reaching the Premier League in the 2003-04, as a high-profile Harry Redknapp capture from Spurs.
A one-year deal was agreed for then 37-year-old, who went on to score 10 goals - including five finishes in the season’s first six matches.
That included a hat-trick at Fratton Park against Bolton Wanderers which put the Blues top of the formative Premier League table.
Sheringham retains fond memories of his time at PO4 and is now hoping they can rekindle former glories.
He added: Portsmouth are a great club and it would be great to see them moving up the table, it really would.’