LATEST: Portsmouth boss outlines January plan with eyes on sustaining promotion charge
It's shaping up to be a critical January transfer window - here's how Pompey are planning to operate when it comes to business in the new year.
Pompey will be able to mobilise for the January transfer recruits to deliver Championship football.
But landing the new faces to bolster John Mousinho’s promotion push will not be to the detriment of building for the future.
That’s the belief of the Blues head coach, with the window now just over four weeks from opening.
Supporters are casting their eyes towards replenishing Pompey’s squad in the new year, in the face of a number of injuries - including to key players.
Mousinho knows that priority has to been covered in what is likely to be a critical period of recruitment, but won’t be to the detriment of the bigger picture.
He said: ‘We’ll have a nice combination of both. The good position the football club is in in terms of ownership, is if we have something to have a good bit of business to get us over the line - I think we’ll be able to do that.
‘Having said that, we’d back ourselves not to just find someone who’s a four-month fix, if that makes sense.
‘I think, if it comes to it, the owners have shown plenty of willingness to back us in those areas.
‘January is a good time to get people who can affect the squad now, but also in the future. I think the more players who can affect the squad now but also in the future the better.
‘We showed that last January when we brought in Paddy Lane and Ryley Towler, who affected things immediately. Then we had Di’Shon Bernard and Matt Macey who were quick fixes for four months and went back.’
Pompey are continuing to scour a number of different markets for some of the game’s most exciting emerging young players. Mousinho highlighted that will remain a key strand of the new year business, with board support for delivering now.
He said: ‘We’ll be able to do that (buy for the future) - and it wouldn’t affect the push in the league. It would never be an either/or.
‘That’s the position we know where we’d get from the board, where it wouldn’t be a case of “you can have someone for the long term, but you’re then not going to have someone who helps you push for league success this season”. That’s not the case.
‘Of course we’re going to protect the long-term interests of the football club, but it wouldn’t be like that. So we’re definitely going to look at both.’