‘Deal with it’: Portsmouth boss’ ruthless message to players ahead of Coventry and Watford

The Blues boss is refusing to accept fixture congestion as a reason for his side not performing, as they enter a massive period in their season.

Mousinho’s men begin a run of 12 games in 43 days with Coventry City arriving at Fratton Park this Saturday.

That comprises five games across 16 days over the Christmas period, with a further seven matches in 23 days from the FA Cup trip to Wycombe on January 10 ending with Burnley arriving at PO4 on February 1.

Last Friday’s terrible 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Derby County came at the end of three games in eight days.

Pompey appeared bright in the Fratton win over Bristol City and 0-0 home draw with Norwich, but looked drained at Pride Park at the period’s finale.

That has put a focus on Mousinho’s squad, with questions being asked of its strength of depth and ability to handle the rigours of a Championship campaign.

Mousinho is giving short shrift to any concerns about Pompey handling the incessant run they are about to embark on, with a no-nonsense riposte.

He said: ‘Derby had the same schedule but two bits of travel to our one going into the game.

‘That’s the way it is and what we have to deal with.

‘That’s my message to the boys - learn to deal with it.

‘The Championship is relentless because you don’t have many games and we’re all sat around waiting for a game to come along.

‘Now we’re going into an incredibly busy period over Christmas and January is just immense for us in terms of the amount of games.

‘We’ve got to get used to it, get on with it and play the games - I know the lads love doing it, so that’s great.’