Portsmouth boss John Mousinho sets next season’s Championship target

And the Pompey boss believes greater consistency is required from his players, as he aimed for second-tier progress in the 2025-26 campaign.

Mousinho and his men are celebrating staying up this term, after Pompey successfully returned to the level after a 12-year absence.

It was an effort completed with two games to spare, an achievement made all the more impressive after a start which saw just a single win returned from their first 14 games.

Pompey went into the new year one place off the foot of the table, before putting back-to-back wins together for the first time in January against Middlesbrough and Stoke.

Three wins on the bounce arrived for the first time in February against Cardiff, Oxford and QPR as the season sprung to live.

That led to survival eventually being secured over the Easter period with back-to-back successes against Norwich and Watford, amid a five-game unbeaten finale.

There were plenty of dark moments to come through on the way to the strong finish, however, chiefly on the road with three wins returned from 24 fixtures in all competitions.

The 6-1 thrashing at Stoke last October was a low with a 4-0 Derby beating, 3-0 festive reverse at Bristol City and 5-1 battering by West Brom in January similarly bleak.

Pompey finished an impressive 16th in the final reckoning, however, with Mousinho now looking for progress.

He said: ‘I’m reflecting very positively on the season.

‘It was great to go into the last game with nothing to play for, that’s credit to everyone at the football club in terms of what we’ve been able to achieve in being safe with two games to spare.

‘To think of the amount of times we’ve been stood talking (to the press) after games and the situation has been perilous.

‘We’ve been flirting with the relegation zone for the majority of the season, so to finish 16th and safe with two games to go represents a very successful season.

‘Having said that, we want to improve as a football club, we don’t want to be in this situation again.

‘We’re not saying we’re going to fly away with it, the most important thing next season is to secure our safety, Championship status again and build as a football club.

‘But we now have to try to push a bit higher.

‘Whether that’s pushing higher than 16th or not we’ll have to see, but it’s probably about being more competitive across the season - we weren’t competitive in enough games this season.’

Pompey boss Mousinho: We’ve learned a huge amount

Mousinho completes his second full season as Pompey boss with his standing in the game at a high, after backing up the League One title win with staying up with one of the division’s lowest playing budgets.

The Blues sees a huge amount of areas where gains can be made, however, and learning can be taken by himself and his team from the mistakes made along the way to achieving success.

Mousinho added: ‘In terms of my evolution as a head coach and football club in general, I feel we’ve learned a huge amount.

‘We’ve learned a huge amount about the Championship, what we need to do better and our own squad going into next season. I think we’re in a good position to try and act upon that.’

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