'Poor recruitment': Portsmouth Trust Q&A in full as Rich Hughes, John Mousinho and Andy Cullen put on the spot

Do you think refereeing decisions affect most of the players’ performance?

John Mousinho said: ‘I don’t think so. We’ve not had the rub of the green, where we’ve had big decisions go against us. Saturday (Hull) I thought we had two strong penalty shouts and Charlie Hughes should have been sent off, but I don’t think it really affected the lads, they kept going and going.

‘It’s frustrating for players, sometimes it can go the other way. It’s a really interesting one, if I look back at the 46 games last year there weren’t many at all where we felt we were fine with referring decisions. Maybe the smallest things.

‘It’s really important for us to acknowledge that we want to make sure the referee's performance is as best as we can.

‘You have to put the ball into the back of the net and get one goal or two goals - and you always have to make sure a refereeing decision at an important moment in the game doesn’t cost us.’

We have a strategy of buying young players like Harvey Blair, but there is no competition for them to go into. Surely you need some kind of second team or under-21s?

Rich Hughes: ‘Harvey has played a lot of under-21 football for Liverpool. I know you are not making the point around him, but I think it’s good to talk about him and to discuss him.

‘He has been involved with their first-team. With the sort of model you are talking about, Harvey Blair wouldn't join us (to play in the under-21s) because he can continue playing for Liverpool’s under-21s.

‘One of the big frustrations is, when we are watching these players, under-21s is very, very difficult to watch and doesn’t always replicate the complexities of senior football. There’s a wider development point about how you replicate a better intensity in under-21 football.

‘For reference, Harvey played against Fulham a few weeks ago in the last international break (in a Pompey friendly) and he’s been out with a little injury. That is again a point of players coming out of the under-21s, they are not used to the intensity of a Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday because those standard leagues don’t tend to replicate that.

‘There's a wider piece for us as a football club to manage our own players’ development, but it is also part of a much wider strategy around better replication of competitive senior football in the under-21 environment.

‘I know certain clubs who have these Category 1 Academies and try to go down a route where they bring ex-players back to go into that environment to help them. Tom Huddlestone was playing for Manchester United under-21s, Jay Spearing is at Liverpool, Olly Lancashire went back to Southampton. Teams are trying it.

‘With us, the relevance of this is, we want Harvey to get through and play in our first-team, but it’s like how Abu Kamara was at Norwich under-21s.

‘We have to give them opportunities, but it’s also up to the players to be knocking down the door and showing enough in training and showing the glimpses when they come on in games.

‘They must continue to improve and build upon what they are showing to John and the rest of the coaching staff to get those opportunities.

‘But it’s a tough challenge and something we face because there’s that intensity of the three-game week and a continual repetition on players.

‘It is a very tough thing, but the nature of football is you are looking for those that adapt to it and overcome the challenges of doing it and find a way into the first-team - and those are the ones that go on and have very good careers.’

The Plymouth game was great - apart from the fact we are not scoring enough goals. You mentioned tonight about trying to be more ruthless in front of goal, what do you do on the training pitch to do that?

John Mousinho: ‘You look at the gap between Saturday and Tuesday night. We are then off on Thursday and back on Friday for a game at the weekend. So it’s very, very light physically, there’s not a huge amount of training you do between now and the weekend.

‘Everything done prior to Plymouth, particularly around the centre-forward and the 10, is about the positions they put themselves in. This week will be much more heavily focused on talking to particular forward players about when the ball is in the box.

‘To some centre-forwards and some players it’s natural, some you have to keep drilling in the message.

‘As we go into the international week, we can then use that and start replicating it on the training pitch as much as possible. The interesting thing from my point of view is we have gone from situations this season where we scored quite a few goals.

‘Plymouth was a really good example. We didn’t score but the way we solidified and the way we are now looking much more solid defensively, I don’t think that has come at a price of actually creating chances.

‘We just need to make sure we do the right things at the top end of the pitch and also, when we do win the ball back high up, make better decisions to create more and more chances.

‘We have to make sure we increase pressure on the opposition and make sure the players are filled with confidence.’

Alex Robertson and Abu Kamara played for us and were subsequently sold to Cardiff and Hull. Without a guarantee of a buy clause with the parent club what is actually the point?

Rich Hughes: ‘I think Eric made the comment about loans and I won’t get drawn into it too much in terms of January.

‘We have the opportunity to change the squad in the way we see is best fit, whether that’s a loan player coming to help us, whether that is buying a player, whether that’s any iteration of either, we have the opportunity to do that.

‘With three loans here already, we can bring in two more if we don’t lose any others. Your point around players coming from higher clubs and going back, it’s completely valid, I can't change that, that’s the way the pyramid works.

‘We’ve seen success. Freddie Potts this year is doing really well for us and the essence of it is we feel Freddie helps us in the short-term, but West Ham see a future for Freddie as a West Ham player and would command a multi-million pound fee.

‘I think Freddie Potts will end up playing in the Premier League at some point in his career and West hMA probably share that view.

‘The loans in January will be players we anticipate will make a huge impact for us, that will be the plan and the modus operandi. We want to bring players in who are going to help us and whatever iteration that finds itself as a permanent transfer or a loan, we will look to react accordingly to give ourselves the best chance of being successful post-January.’

Eric Eisner said the stage is set and we now need to fill it with actors. To be blunt, the stage isn’t set, we have a waiting list of season tickets, we have a training ground being developed, but what worries me the most is we don’t have a strategy on the Academy.

Rich Hughes: ‘That’s not the first time someone has mentioned Michael’s comment at the Guildhall. One of the greatest things in football is when you get a local player from a local club playing for their home team, it’s something we all really strive to achieve.

‘I can’t talk about what’s gone before, but I can see all the good work that’s going on in the Academy and I probably find myself having to say that in every meeting. I also get everyone’s probably frustrated about when that player is going to pop into the first-team.

‘With the challenges they are faced within Academy football, it is really, really tough to do that. This is something me and John have spoken about.

‘Toby Steward was on the bench against Sheffield Wednesday and I appreciate that is nothing to get excited about. But, in a really nice way, we brought Toby back, he was on the bench - and there wasn't a single member of the football coaching staff that was concerned by Toby if he had to come on in that game.

‘So Toby is progressing really well and we are hoping he will be one of those players that get through the system and plays for the first-team, whether that is at 21 or 24. If we can see a pathway for a player who is good enough, we will afford them that time and give them the opportunities to get in.

‘Also one of the biggest challenges in football is to be successful and find a way of blooding young players.

‘Wycombe are having a very good season, I know they have all this planning for their training ground going on in the background. They are a very established League One side, players like Garath McCleary and Josh Scowen, but they are not really bringing anyone through their Academy and that is why they are investing.

‘The one thing I can say - and I appreciate everyone's frustration on the Academy - what I see at the training ground on a day-to-day basis is the hard work that goes on by everyone to make it a success and the work that goes on in a really competitive market.

WATCH: The latest episode of Pompey Talk is now out

‘I can assure you that there’s a lot of hard work being done by a lot of good people.’

Andy Cullen: ‘One of the first meetings I had with the Safety Advisory Group was to challenge the reduction in capacity from 16,500 to 14,000 and going down to 10,000 in 2-3 years.

‘We are now up to 21,000, and the crowds at Fratton Park are at their highest levels for 12 years.

‘In terms of the vision of the football club and getting extra capacity with a North Stand, you can see projects at Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Liverpool to create 5,000 seats between £80-100m. Those 5,000 seats generate you £2m revenue, so you have to find ways to fund this.’

Obviously a lot of groundwork has gone on for the Hall of Fame wall, which has obviously been taken away. Who made the decision to get rid and are there any plans to reinstate it?

Andy Cullen: ‘The Victory Suite is to operate as an event venue 365 days a year outside match days to bring a new revenue stream into the football club. We have to provide conferencing with a clean room, so no memorabilia, you will see very much white walls.

‘We are very, very conscious about the Hall of Fame, we want to create an area. In the Victory Suite, that wasn’t accessible for all supporters to see that. So, complementing the fantastic work the PSC did with the Jimmy Dickinson statue in terms of making that happen, we will create its own area there.

‘We are going to move the Hall of Fame wall into that area of the Jimmy Dickinson statue, so it’s accessible to supporters and we can add to it as it goes on.

‘I am grateful to both the PSC and the Pompey History Society for allowing us to do that. That work should be completed very shortly.

A lot of fans believe your recruitment this season has been pretty poor. One for tomorrow and none for today.

Rich Hughes: ‘We take your criticism. I would say yes we’ve recruited players for tomorrow, but I also think we’ve recruited players that are affecting the here and now.

‘Go through the team that played at Plymouth on Tuesday night, Nico in goal, Jordan Williams at right-back and Andre Dozzell (players signed this summer). 

‘I understand we are not winning games, but to address the question you are posing to me, yes we have recruited some players for tomorrow, but I (also) feel we have recruited some players that can affect us today.

‘I think the performance was good against Hull, the performance was good at Plymouth and those performances were heavily dictated to by players that we brought in this summer to affect the team.

‘It’s always a hard part of football when you have to change a team which was really successful last year and there were some mainstays in that group that were a big part of it who we were sorry to see leave the football club in terms of Sean Raggett, Joe Rafferty and Joe Morrell, who had substantial impact on last season. But we had to upgrade the team.

‘Joe Morrell is still injured and hasn’t kicked a ball this season and Sean Raggett has made two starts for Rotherham.’

When we get our noses in front in games, such as Middlesbrough, Leeds, Oxford and Burnley, we sit back and the initiative is gone. What goes on in a player’s head, what can you do to address that?

John Mousinho: ‘I certainly think in the Middlesbrough and Leeds games we were far from dominant when we took the lead, we didn’t sit back.

‘There is definitely something in the football psyche that is intangible about if you take a lead for some reason you decide to sit off - and we really encourage the team to keep pressing, to stay on the front foot.

‘Sometimes players become more defensive and I completely agree, that's not the way we want to play, we want to be more front footed.

‘While I don’t agree we’ve dropped off when we have taken the lead in those games, I do agree we have made poor decisions, so clearances and not being good enough in moments when they are getting nervous when you haven’t got that win under your belt.

‘We took the lead at Leeds and Middlesbrough and were living on the edge, I think we got a bit nervous and that ended up costing us.

‘Clearly the psyche of players is something we work on with individuals and work on with the team as well. I completely agree.’

We had Abu Kamara and Alex Robertson last season, did you try to get a deal?

John Mousinho: ‘The really simple answer is yes we tried for both of them.

‘Ultimately, with a player like Alex, we actually tried at the start of last season but Manchester City weren't willing to sell him - and with a lot of those players they didn't want to increase the value by sending him out on loan.

‘Because we had the benefit of seeing these players up front - and the first time you see them every day (in training), we knew they were eminently suited to the Championship.

‘The art of recruitment is when you look at those players and think they will make an impact and we were definitely keenly interested in both of them. Unfortunately we lost out to Hull and Cardiff in those instances, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. 

‘I don’t mind saying that because I could see the effort going into those deals.’

I was wondering if you think a lack of a reserve team doesn't help those players on the fringes and coming back from injuries?

John Mousinho: ‘It’s a really good question. I have been involved in football with many, many different clubs and in different roles. If we could have an under-21 side or reserve side tomorrow we would do it. There are plenty of things which restrict us from being able to do that.

‘I can hopefully speak from a good position because I have only been at the club for just under two years. I can probably imagine the state the football club was in seven years ago when the Eisners took over and I imagine it wasn’t great.

‘I can imagine the state the football club was in when Andy (Cullen) came in and the training ground and Fratton Park was falling down, it wasn’t great. So the strides the club have taken for the foundations in the past 18 months since I have been here have been absolutely huge. 

‘We have moved into the brand new training facility, which is a multi-million pound investment, everything we ask for at first-team level in terms of the infrastructure and investment we get.

‘Sometimes we can't do things straight away and, from my point of view, I have seen football clubs where they do it really well and some clubs don’t do it well and some are halfway in between.

‘I am guessing what has happened through the years at Pompey is you go through those Premier League years of high success where all the players come into the football club, no training ground, no infrastructure, no investment, no anything underneath. So I do think a huge amount of progress has been made with the football club.

‘I know we all want results on the pitch, that’s the only thing we all care about, but I think you have to do it the right way and things like an under-21 side or a reserve side, we wouldn’t absolutely love to do.

‘We’ve only just moved from Portakabins into the training facility, we are updating the pitches constantly, we need space and would love to buy as much land as possible in Portsmouth. I know the owners and Andy and everyone on the board are willing to do it and the plans are there, but it’s not as simple as doing that.

‘It would all benefit the first-team if we could (have an under-21s), we just have to make sure we do things right, we do things in stages, and make sure that more decisions we make collectively are in the best interests of the football club.

‘Sometimes that is really obvious and works out for everyone and sometimes there’s a bit more subtlety to it. Everything you guys want, we want as well, I guarantee that. We all work together.’