'It still hasn't sunk in': Emotional Portsmouth boss John Mousinho on masterminding Blues' stunning Championship survival
An emotional John Mousinho surveyed Pompey’s remarkable Championship survival and insisted: It still hasn’t sunk in.
Colby Bishop’s first-half goal secured a 1-0 triumph over Watford - ensuring the Blues have avoided relegation with two matches remaining.
It’s a stunning achievement for Mousinho and his players, having taken 10 matches to win their first Championship fixture and occupied bottom spot in October and November.
At times they had been written off, even by some of their own fanbase, yet Pompey have hauled themselves into 16th position and guaranteed their presence next term.
And for Mousinho, who toasted the League One title barely 12 months earlier, it marked another outstanding accomplishment.
He told The News: ‘Staying up was the remit before the start of the season, it was the remit before the start of the Watford game - and we’ve managed to do it
‘It hasn’t quite sunk in yet because of the nature of the game and how bizarre the second half was in particular. Once it does, we will be extremely satisfied as a football club with where we have come.
‘It’s one of those weird ones. It's a bit like when we got promoted this time last year when we won the league, it felt so surreal in the evening because my head was so engrossed in the game in making sure we got over the line - and it didn’t quite sink in.
‘All of a sudden you’re back the next day thinking about who you are going to sign in the summer and what your plans are for pre-season.
‘If you had asked me at any point during the season I would say there’s going to be a fantastic celebration when we stay up, so I’m going to enjoy the next couple of weeks and enjoy tonight.
‘But the nature of the players and the nature of the coaching staff means we’re probably going to get back on it pretty quickly in terms of planning for next year.’
With Derby scheduled to play Hull next weekend, it means at least one of them cannot now catch Pompey - along with Plymouth and Luton.
That ensures three clubs are guaranteed to finish below the Blues at the end of the season - and safety has been achieved.
Mousinho added: ‘Staying up gives us a massive boost first of all financially, but in terms of being able to retain players, keep the fanbase, all of these things are really, really important so we can build again next year.
‘We're going to try to do exactly that, build again next season on the positivity of this year and try to be successful.’