‘Finish the job’: Portsmouth boss’ promotion rallying cry as he lifts lid on dressing room mood ahead of Bolton Wanderers showdown

John Mousinho believes his Pompey players are ready for their shot at Fratton immortality.

And the Blues boss has spoken of ‘level heads’ in his camp, as the League One leaders take their first shot at reaching the Championship at Bolton Wanderers.

Promotion and the title are up for grabs at the Toughsheet Stadium, with three points against Ian Evatt’s guaranteeing a return to the second tier after a 12-year absence.

A stern test of Pompey’s credentials awaits them, however, in the shape of Ian Evatt’s side, who now have their promotion destiny back in their own hands after Derby’s draw at Wycombe on Wednesday.

Victory would confirm top spot with three games remaining, while Peterborough’s trip to Oxford and Derby’s home clash with Leyton Orient could be significant in the event of not winning.

Mousinho senses a group ready for the challenge, as he gave an insight into the players’ mindset.

He said: ‘We’ve taken seven points from those three games, rolled into this week and been able to have a bit more time on the grass, which is nice.

‘It’s very different from players to coaches, players want to get on with the next game while us coaches want a bit more time to look at the game and the build-up to the Bolton game.

‘It’s been a bit of a strange week. We know what’s at stake at the weekend, but nothing seems that different at the training ground.

‘The lads have got on with things well. We did the post-match when we came back in and then everything pre-match to do with Bolton. It’s been good, it’s been bright and the lads have responded well to the weekend and everything which went on last week.

‘Everything we spoke about after the Shrewsbury game in terms of level heads - we’ve seen all that.

‘It (Derby’s result at Wycombe) doesn’t affect anything, because the most important thing for us is to finish the job in terms of getting promotion. That’s available to us for the first time and that’s the focus we have.

‘We don’t need to think about anything else, because we’ve got a really tough test on our hands because Bolton are thinking exactly the same thing. They can’t get it done at the weekend, but they are thinking the same thing.’

With it business as usual so far, Mousinho anticipates the run-up to the Toughsheet showdown being a similar story as Pompey train today before travelling to the north west.

He added: ‘We want to make sure we keep things as normal as possible - and they have been.

‘We’ve had the benefits of being able to control everything in this environment. We’ve trained as normal this week and will train again on Friday.

‘We’ve prepared as we have done and will travel up as we have for the rest of the season. Those are the things we can control - and we’ll make sure we keep controlling those things right up to the final whistle.’