'Thrilled for him' - why Portsmouth boss' latest praise for summer signing signals more bad news for forgotten man

And that spells further bad news for Will Norris, who’s not been involved in any Blues match-day squad since he let in six goals against Stoke on October 2.

The 400,000 euro summer signing from BW Linz has been in goal for the Blues ever since that decisive move from the head coach - apart from when he had to sit out the Sheffield Wednesday loss due to concussion.

The Austrian is still to record a clean sheet in the seven starts he’s made to date - but he’s definitely done enough to warrant his promotion. His performance in Saturday’s 2-2 at Swansea is further testament to that.

Indeed, his lightning, reactionary stop to deny Liam Cullen from eight yards out in the second half was top drawer and allowed Pompey to pick up another valuable point on the road. It followed a string of further important saves - so it was understandable Mousinho was singing his praises at the final whistle.

When asked about his near point-blank save to deny Cullen, the Blues boss told BBC Radio Solent: ‘Yeah, it was absolutely superb.

‘It looked superb in real time, I haven’t seen it back, but I’m sure it’s going to look even better then. But we need that. We’re going to need players to step up and I think Nic has come over and he’s been excellent.

‘He’s been really, really good and I’m thrilled for him that he’s made that save!’

Mousinho’s latest Schmid plaudits follow praise aimed at the 27-year-old after recent displays against Hull, Plymouth and Preston. It also comes amid Norris’ ongoing first-team absence.

The Blues’ League One title-winning keeper currently finds himself third in the pecking order behind Schmid and another summer signing, Jordan Archer. A minor knee injury coincided with his time out of the team initially - but now available for selection, his non-involvement on a match-day as Archer continues to provide back-up raises questions about his long-term Pompey future.

Speaking about his goalkeeping options earlier this month, Mousinho said: ‘Let’s not be naive about it, because keepers don’t change as often as a centre-forward or a winger and it’s harder to get back into the side.

‘Coming out of the side it would’ve seemed like a big decision. So we’ve wanted to make sure he gets his head right and he’s trained since the injury and been great around the place.

‘He’s pushing and he’s given us a problem, because we’ve got three really good keepers here.

‘Will’s far too good not to even be on the bench. So it gives us an issue going forward.’