'Has all the attributes' - sacked Danny Cowley gives Portsmouth successor John Mousinho his seal of approval

Speaking on talkSPORT, the former Blues head coach said he understood why the Fratton Park hierarchy named the now ex-Oxford United skipper as the man to lead the club into a new era.

Cowley also hoped the work he and brother Nicky did during their 22-month stint at PO4 will provide the solid foundations for Mousinho to meet expectations.

The ex-Lincoln and Huddersfield boss was officially replaced by the U’s man last Friday – 18 days after his sacking was announced.

The appointment raised many eyebrows, given Mousinho’s then playing status, his lack of senior coaching experience and his role as chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association.

However, it didn’t surprise Cowley, who is, as expected, fully versed in what the club’s vision is and it’s direction of travel under chairman and owner Michael Eisner.

When asked by talkSport’s Jim White whether he was surprised by Pompey’s decision to turn to Mousinho, he said: ‘No. because I think I understood where the club were coming from and what they were trying to achieve.

‘Probably, I think the club has to keep working and trying to create the narrative and trying to communicate well with the support base.

‘But, ultimately, Michael Eisner and his family have had unbelievable success in their lives and absolutely have the club’s best interests in their heart.

‘Like they’ve said from day dot, really, they’re trying to create a sustainable football club. They absolutely want success but they also want longevity.

‘They’ve appointed a young manager and I know John. I’ve just finished my pro licence with him so he’s someone I know well – really intelligent, articulate – (and) I have no doubt he has all the attributes to be a really successful manager/head coach.

‘But the remit there, is they really want to develop young players, recruit young players and have success at the same time.

‘Ultimately, that takes time and I think we’ve left the club in a better place than we found it.

‘I genuinely believe that and we hope that we’ve created some foundations that John can build on and the club can go on to the success that it wants.’

Cowley’s appearance on talkSPORT offered him the opportunity to speak about his Pompey exit for the first time, although he did provide a statement through the League Managers Association last week.

He said he wasn’t bitter with the club’s decision to go in another direction.

‘You have two choices, don’t you. You either get bitter or you get better,’ added Cowley.

‘For us, we want to get better.

‘This is our first major disappointment and I genuinely believe we’re going to take learning from it.’