Daily commutes from Nottingham and lost motivation: Portsmouth boss hoping ex-Sheffield United and Derby man can rediscover footballing spark

The 31-year-old’s wretched Pompey spell is now over after the Blues opted against offering a fresh deal.

In two disappointing years on the south coast, the former Sheffield United man made 32 appearances – with his last outing on January 10.

According to Mousinho, Freeman’s desire to be near his family saw him travel from Nottingham most days to attend Pompey training.

The head coach is convinced that impacted negatively on the defender, both mentally and physically, as he struggled to break into the Blues team.

And Mousinho is backing a move closer to his family home to kick-start a flagging career.

He told The News: ‘Kieron and I had a really good, but brief, chat and wished each other the best of luck.

‘It has not gone to plan for him here, having hardly been involved at all, maybe included in a few squads under me. I think he’s much better off moving back home, getting somewhere closer to his family and taking the commute out of it.

‘He was coming down from Nottingham every day to train. Mentally and physically that’s not great for players to be travelling that amount of time to try to be top-end professionals.

‘Kieron is a terrific player, he has played in the Premier League and had a really good career, I’m sure he’ll pick up another club. He needs to kick-start that career.

‘He needs that reset, he needs to go again, to get motivated to play football again, and then go from there.

‘Kieron’s not particularly old. He’s towards the back end of his career, but it’s not too late for him, and going back home is the best thing.

‘I just think he’d be a bit more motivated, taking 3-4 hours out of travelling every day, while spending a lot more time with his family.’

Danny Cowley recruited Freeman on a free transfer in July 2021, handing him a two-year deal with a club option.

Previously he had been a popular figure in Sheffield United’s march to the Premier League under Chris Wilder, while also spent time at Swansea and Swindon.

Mousinho added: ‘Let’s not forget Kieron was competing with two other right-backs here.

‘There’s definitely a player there, he’s hugely talented, but has a bit to do in terms of getting himself fit and match-ready.

‘Obviously he can do that over the off-season – and a lot of that comes down to motivation and wanting to play football again, wanting to get going.’