'They're not the blueprint' - Portsmouth boss John Mousinho outlines admiration for Plymouth but insists Blues will do things their way

The Blues boss believes there’s much to admire about the Pilgrims, who have been on an upward trajectory ever since their return to the third tier of English football at the end of the 2019-20 season.

Their brand of football, recruitment and ability to consistently get value for money from their players makes them role models for most clubs.

And all that with a modest budget and after the instigator of their revival, Ryan Lowe, left for Preston just over 12 months ago.

Since then the Scouser’s replacement, Steven Schumacher, has built on those solid foundations and taken Plymouth to the next level.

Indeed, they go into today’s game with Pompey six points clear of big-sending Ipswich, with just one home defeat all season and with the most points collected on home territory by a League One club this term.

As Mousinho prepares his side tomorrow’s Home Park game, he’ll bear all that in mind.

He’ll also take and adopt some of the abovementioned techniques developed by the Pilgrims with him on his own journey at Pompey.

But that’s were the admiration will end. There’s no appetite to fully replicate what’s worked at Plymouth.

Instead, the Blues new head coach believes the club have to develop their own success story, write their own blueprint, and find a way to succeed that works to their strengths and vision for the future.

When asked by The News about Plymouth’s ongoing success, Mousinho said: ‘I think what you’ve got at Plymouth is a side that has a real identity in terms of the way that they play – and that’s definitely something we need to aspire to. They play exciting football.

‘We know their shape – not that it makes it any easier to stop – we know their players, they have some exciting young players coming through as well, and they’ve probably eked every last penny out of their budget as well. Not in terms of spending but in terms of value for money.

‘And they’ve done that through a variety of very good recruitment and also bringing loans in as well. they’ve done that excellently.

‘They’ve lost a couple of players as well that they’re going to have to replace, but that’s always a good sign.

‘So, definitely, the way Plymouth have gone about their business, since coming into League One, has been excellent.

‘They’re not the blueprint by any means, because I think we have to do things our way at Portsmouth – that’s the most important thing.

‘But we can certainly look at them and steal a couple of their ideas and go from there!

‘The most important thing for us is to focus on what we think will make Portsmouth successful and build on that.’