New boss on the prospect of facing Portsmouth baptism of fire against Exeter City

Mousinho takes his first steps into football management today after being named the club’s new head coach.

It promises to be a highly-charged occasion against Exeter, with the 36-year-old arriving as Danny Cowley’s successor.

Mousinho will be introduced to his new club’s fans on the same afternoon some supporters plan a protest aimed at the direction headed under Michael Eisner.

His immediate challenge is to arrest a run of no wins in 10 league games, and one success in 15 League One fixtures.

Mousinho explained he is walking into his maiden game with his eyes open.

He said: ‘There’s no surprise to me that there’s a bit of unrest among Portsmouth fans and they want to see progress.

‘For them it may look like: “what have we done here? Why didn’t we get a stellar name who will push for promotion this season?”.

‘I know why they (the board) haven’t done that and it is 100 per cent the right decision.

‘Ultimately I have to make sure I’m aware of that, while trying to bring that longer term vision into play as well.

‘I don’t really care about me so much, all I’m asking is the fans give the players a chance.

‘But I’m excited. Thinking of taking charge of the team is nerve-wracking definitely, but the thought of feeling it all is incredible, too,’

Pompey fans initially reacted to news of Mousinho coming into the Fratton hot seat in underwhelmed fashion.

That was followed by more followers stating he deserves fans’ backing before rushing to judgement.

Ultimately, the Oxford United arrival knows how he can win over the Pompey faithful.

He added: ‘There’s a couple of ways (to changing pre-conceived ideas about him).

‘The first way is to win games, which is what fans want.

‘The other thing is changing what they see on a Saturday.

‘Ultimately it’s about what we see on the football pitch.

‘I know there are certain things the fans want to see. Winning is one of them, but there are plenty of other things they want to see.

‘We need to get to that point.’