RECAP a perfect Portsmouth afternoon as Cheltenham are buried

John Mousinho believes it may be too idealistic to see Pompey curtail bringing in loan signings.

And the Blues feels not bringing in temporary additions could be handing an advantage to their rivals.

Chief executive Andy Cullen has spoken of the need to end a reliance on loans, with five players who fit that bill currently in Mousinho’s squad.

The head coach can see the thinking behind that suggestion, but pointed out executing that plan will bring its own issues.

Mousinho said: ‘Moving away from a reliance on loans is excellent in theory.

‘The problem is in order to do that, you have to buy early (in the window) - and that costs a lot more money.

‘So if you move away from loans you’re doing the business earlier, which sounds a great idea.

‘But, for whatever reason, a lot of things open up later in the window.

‘That’s for many reasons.

‘As we look at the next window, if you talk to me in June I will have a larger squad and much more blank slate than I will have at the back end of July or second week in August.

‘I will want to learn about those players. Then as we go through, one, two, three, four or five become available for loan.

‘That’s just what happens at all the clubs - and it filters down from the top.

‘Premier League clubs take their 21s away on tour in July and August.

‘You ask for a loan and they want to see how he does first.

‘You can either say, “well we’ll get our business done early”, or you can be a bit more flexible with it.

‘So in theory we want to move away from it, but we also don’t want to go into the last two weeks of the window and see our rivals take all the best loans - while we say “nah, we don’t want any loans”.’

The January recall of keeper Josh Griffiths highlighted another problem with loan players, as he returned to West Brom in unexpected fashion.

Mousinho feels there’s a balancing act Pompey need to execute when dealing with the issue.

He added: ‘We want to make sure we do it sensibly, but if you have five loans every year you have that immediate turnover every time there’s a window.

‘You get the Josh Griffiths situation where he gets the call at a drop of a hat - and you’re left needing to get a keeper in.

‘So there’s pros and cons to it, but that’s the whole trick with recruitment - and what we have to get right.

‘Loans are an interesting one.

‘They can go wrong, absolutely, but if they go right you tend to be able to take a budget and it increases by a million pound by not doing anything, in a way.

‘That’s because you’ve got a player you haven’t had to pay for, you probably don’t have to cover all their wages and if they perform really well it’s like having a free player in your budget you haven’t had to put money aside for.’

‘I wouldn’t imagine it’s on Pompey’s radar that I have any connection with the football club at all!’

Is this a sentence Southampton-supporting Cheltenham boss Wade Elliott might regret as he prepares to bring his Robins side to Fratton Park tomorrow?

Probably, with Blues supporters always willing to direct a bit of stick at anyone with a connection with that lot up the road!

Was Elliott not listening when on-loan Saints striker Dan N’Lundulu was getting it in both ears when Pompey travelled to Whaddon Road back in August?

The St Mary’s striker is no longer with Cheltenham, having moved to Bolton in the January transfer window.

And with no other obvious links to Southampton in the Robins squad, it appears Elliott’s fresh admission might see him being the subject of one or two well-chosen words!

The fact that the former Bournemouth, Burnley and Birmingham never actually played for Saints won’t matter either.

Indeed, simply admitting to being a Saints fan will be enough to ensure the banter is flowing during tomorrow’s PO4 game.

‘I never played for Southampton, so I wouldn’t think so,’ said Eastleigh-born Elliott, when asked by Gloucester Live in the build-up to the game whether he expects to get any stick from the Fratton faithful.

‘I was born in Southampton and I am a Saints fan - you support your local team, don’t you. I wouldn’t imagine it’s on Pompey’s radar that I have any connection with the football club at all.’

Elliott, who was on the St Mary’s club’s books as a youngster, added he had experienced a few south-coast derbies down the years, with his most recent being Southampton’s 4-0 win over the Blues in the Carabao Cup back in 2019.

He admitted he enjoyed that Fratton Park occasion but insisted any Southampton loyalty he has will be quickly forgotten about as his primary focus will be on steering the 19th-placed Robins away from the League One relegation zone.

‘I’ve been to a few (south-coast derbies),’ added Elliott.

‘I went to the most recent one and they are proper games. I know everyone’s derby is their derby, but it is fierce. The last one was a good one and I enjoyed it.’

‘Not particularly,’ he said, when asked if tomorrow’s game takes on extra significance for him.

‘But it might do for my friends and family, having a bit of extra edge on it.

‘Most important thing for us is the points. I just want us to deliver a good performance and if we do that we’ll have a chance of taking some points, which ultimately is the most important thing.’

The John Mousinho era continues today against Cheltenham Town.

After three wins, two draws and a couple of defeats from his opening games the Blues return to Fratton Park.

The play-offs are now 14 points away with 16 games remaining, but Pompey fans will be looking for some cause from optimism from their team for the remainder of the season.

We’ll be building up to kick-off with all the talking points before team news drops at 2pm.

Then it’s more reaction and build-up before we bring live commentary from 3pm.