‘Naive and delusional’: Portsmouth boss pinpoints sides still in Championship relegation dogfight with call over Sheffield Wednesday, QPR, Norwich City & Co

And the Pompey boss warned the sides above his team in the table, like this weekend’s opponents Preston, could yet be sucked into the dogfight at the foot of the table.

The picture in the bid to avoid relegation to League One this week took another twist this week, as each of the teams in the bottom three picked up mid-week wins.

That tightened things up with there now three points covering bottom four and a further five points between Oxford in 20th and QPR in 14th.

Pompey currently sit in 14th on 42 points, seven clear of the drop zone, and Mousinho isn’t feeling comfortable with nine games to go.

He said: ‘We certainly feel that we’re still in it, we certainly feel that we’re still in it on 42 points.

‘There’s quite a few teams above us on 44 points. Above that, in my eyes, Sheffield Wednesday are absolutely fine.

‘That’s how I see it, there’s probably a huge number of clubs who don’t feel secure yet - and rightly so. That includes ourselves, so we have to pick up enough points to make sure we don’t feel that.

‘That’s why Plymouth was so disappointing.

‘We’ve seen the bottom three sides pick up points, Hull and Stoke pick up points as well.

‘It’s going to happen, I guarantee it. Sides go on runs at this stage of the season.

‘We went on a mini run before Plymouth and sides wouldn’t have anticipated us winning four out of five games.

‘It changes very quickly, so we have to make sure we guard against that complacency.

‘You can’t think we’ve got a nice ten-point gap - because it can go in a week. Anyone who thinks otherwise is probably naive and a bit delusional.

Pompey’s fortunes over the past couple of weeks is a cautionary tale for the surprises which could still unfold this term in the Championship.

Defeat at Luton, who were bottom, was followed by success over leaders Leeds United on Sunday on a memorable Fratton Park occasion. Then, however, there was more frustration as Plymouth, who currently sit at the foot of the table, triumphed at PO4 on Wednesday night.

Mousinho added:‘It’s the Championship, we’ve seen how competitive it is. We’ve defeated the top side and lost to two sides who were bottom. If that doesn’t tell you how competitive it is, I don’t know what will.’

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