'I have a very different feeling about this': Why Portsmouth boss is confident new jinx won't strike at Plymouth

Still haunted by those dismal displays at Stoke and Cardiff, the Blues now head to fellow strugglers Plymouth tonight (8pm).

Yet while acknowledging the previous pain, their head coach insists he has a ‘very, very different feeling’ about this latest evening match.

Certainly the portents were good when they travelled to Stoke off the back of a goalless home draw against Sheffield United. Likewise, a maiden win of the season courtesy of QPR preceded the journey to Cardiff.

What unfolded were deeply troubling performances and, of course, comprehensive defeats to leave them bottom of the table.

Now, following a Hull point and the best 45 minutes of the season according to Mousinho, Pompey are booked for a Home Park encounter.

Pompey’s head coach told The News: ‘What happened in the previous two midweek away games definitely isn’t lost on us, but, at the same time, we can’t dwell on it too much.

‘It’s getting the right balance between acknowledging the fact those two midweek games haven’t been up to the standard of performance we need, but also recognising our circumstances going into this game are different.

‘Once we recognise that and try to improve some of the shortcomings of the other games, I think we’ll be in a good spot.

‘I do get a very, very different feeling about this game, particularly off the back of the performance at Hull. It felt a bit of a different mentality and attitude from the boys coming off the pitch on Saturday.

‘We got the equaliser at Hull and then were properly on the front foot trying to win the game, which was different. I’m not saying we didn’t do that against QPR, we scored in the 57th minute and then sat in, not really having a huge amount of the game after that.

‘One of my worries when we equalised so early in the second half at Hull was the half-time message was about being slightly more aggressive. Following the equaliser, I was concerned we might sit off.

‘We didn’t. We got on the front foot, kept going, kept going, kept going, and I thought there was only one team that was going to win the game.

‘That feeds into the slight difference in attitude in the way we attacked the game - and now going to Plymouth.’

Pompey lined up in a 4-4-2 at Hull, enabling them to press the hosts and nullify their desire to play out from the back.

It represented a third system change in three matches - and the Blues are open to again switching their formation at Plymouth.

Mousinho added: ‘It was a nice compliment to come off the pitch and be really, really disappointed in only taking a point away at Hull.

‘At some point we want to end up being settled in terms of the way we set up, we have done it sometimes through personnel, sometimes through necessity in terms of what we think we need to get out of games.

‘At Hull we were 4-4-2 out of possession, we tried to have a slightly different shape in possession. In the second half, we hardly had a goal kick, the ball was hardly in our half, and, when we did win the ball back, we were high up and tried quickly to counter.

‘That was the game really, that’s the way we pressed. We are flexible in the way we do that and we do change depending on what the opposition do.’