Portsmouth boss addresses transfer 'message' to Michael Eisner - and January window hopes

And he insists January recruitment plans have been in place long before that uncomfortable 3-0 wake-up call.

The Blues head coach turned to his fringe players for the trip to Bristol City as he sought to rotate his side during the gruelling festive schedule.

Paddy Lane, Owen Moxon and Sammy Silvera were among the changes as the visitors put in an awful performance to drop back into the Championship relegation zone.

And with the depth of Pompey’s squad once again exposed, it’s all eyes on the January transfer window.

Mousinho told The News: ‘The selection wasn’t a message. If I wanted to send a message to the owners, I would just pick up the phone. We have a really good relationship.

‘When we’ve had conversations around recruitment over the past few months, we know we’ve needed to strengthen in January - and we’d look to do it regardless of the situation we are in.

‘There’s an opportunity to strengthen in the window and we think that’s the right thing to do. The Bristol City performance isn’t going to change anything in terms of the focus in January. We have always known what we need to do with the squad, Sunday was no different.

‘We have talked about what we want to try to do in January. There are a couple of things we are really struggling with, with some major injuries at the moment, as we have been all season.

‘Sometimes when you have those games back to back, that can be really highlighted. If you look at some of the things we are struggling with at the moment, certainly that's a big factor.

‘We are under no illusions. We want to go into January and strengthen the squad and be a lot better than we’ve been for the first half of the season.’

Certainly the centre of defence and central midfield need urgently addressing, in addition to more effective wing options.

Clearly a pivotal month is looming for the Blues to ensure they are well equipped to remain in the Championship.

Mousinho added: ‘There are certainly going to be some areas we need to strengthen.

‘There’s not going to be wholesale changes, but, if we can bring key players in in certain areas, that’s what we will look to do.’