‘A question of competence, not age’: The message from Portsmouth dressing room over new boss arrival from Oxford United

And the new Blues head coach already has the approval of his new squad following his arrival at Fratton Park.

Joe Morrell told how the new man at the helm has quickly made a mark, after being confirmed as Danny Cowley’s successor on Friday.

And Morrell believes you only have to look around football today to realise Mousinho’s relative young years is not a problem for him coming into the job.

He said: ‘He absolutely can (command respect).

‘Judging off his playing career he has already commanded respect.

‘Looking at some of the top coaches in the world, if Julian Nagelsmann walked in the door he’d command respect.

‘I know he’s had a managerial career to back that up, but he’s younger than our manager now.

‘It’s not a question of age, it’s a question of competence.

‘From what we’ve seen so far he’s certainly competent, so there’s no questions about him in that respect at all.

‘It’s the way football is going.

‘Rich (Hughes) and Andy (Cullen) have proven track records of going down that route, with the people they’ve appointed in the past.

‘You look at Rob Edwards and what he did with Forest Green, for example.

‘So us players trust the powers that be to get these appointments right.

‘I’m sure they’ve done all their due diligence which is why it maybe took longer than some expected.

‘We’re really excited to have a new voice, new ideas and see where we can go.’

Morrell revealed the areas Mousinho focussed on as he arrived on a massively tight schedule going into the Exeter game.

He feels the new man will now have the chance to slowly convey his ideas, as he continues into a busy opening as boss.

Morrell added: ‘I think he’ll have his own ideas.

‘As players we don’t know what that is going to be.

‘He’s come in and given us solutions in possession that we utilised and helped us on the pitch.

‘But it terms of the finished article and the Portsmouth team you are going to see under this manager, it’s going to be a better team with more ideas.

‘He was here one day before the game, so it was always going to be difficult.

‘It was just a little more positivity, a fresh voice, fresh ideas and maybe a little more arrogance, which is sometimes what you need.’