Portsmouth boss John Mousinho makes transfer battle admission that will make him even more popular with Fratton faithful
Pompey boss John Mousinho has admitted he loves the challenges the Blues face each time they head into the transfer market - so he’s clearly not put off by what faces the Fratton Park side ahead of Monday’s deadline
John Mousinho has admitted he loves going into battle with Pompey each time they head into a transfer window.
The Blues boss confessed that working with resources that contrast sharply with the finances that the vast majority of other clubs in the Championship have at their disposal excites him.
And he remains positive that the work Pompey’s recruitment team has done so far with just four days of the current transfer window remaining will once prove that money doesn’t guarantee success.
Pompey’s spending power at lower end of Championship table
It’s no secret that Pompey’s transfer budget remains one of the lowest in the second tier. That’s despite the Fratton Park outfit consolidating their position as a Championship side following their promotion from League One in 2023-24 and increasing their spending power in recent windows.
While the Blues’ maximum outlay this summer sits around the £1m mark - a figure they’ve stumped up on three separate occasions to land Mark Kosznovszky, Luke Le Roux and Josh Knight - rivals managers have had far greater money at their disposal and have been allowed to spend transfer fees that dwarf Pompey’s modest expenditure.
For some bosses, that would leave them green with envy. Not Mousinho, though, who helped the Blues defy the odds and finish 16th in last season’s Championship table when they sat in the bottom three for the vast majority of the campaign up until January.
Some astute business in the winter transfer window helped turn that situation around.
And speaking to The News, the Blues’ highly-respected head coach said it that’s constant challenge to exceed expectations and use to the fullest Pompey’s transfer nous that continues to provide huge satisfaction.
Mousinho: that's quite an exciting part of being here
With seven new signings completed to date, Mousinho admitted work still had to be done before the transfer window closes.
Pompey are certainly up against it as they continue to look for attacking reinforcements. Yet the head coach remained enthusiastic about the possibilities can could still present themselves over the coming days.
‘(I’m feeling) pretty good’, said Mousinho. I think that we've added really well in some areas. (But) I still think we've got a bit of work to do.
‘I think that, overall, it's always a challenge in terms of how and where and when we recruit as a football club, which is part and parcel of being where we are.
‘I think that's been no different this summer and that's quite an exciting part of being here, making sure that we try and outperform and make sure that we try and squeeze every last inch out of everything we've got.
‘That's what we're trying to do again in this window. We're positive about the outlook. But we still want to do a little bit more business.’
What Pompey need to do before transfer window closes
Among those currently on Pompey’s radar are St Johnstone striker Makenzie Kirk and Crystal Palace winger Franco Umeh.
Neither will be players the vast majority of the Fratton faithful will have previously heard of - yet neither were the likes of current players Conor Shaughnessy, Nicolas Schmid and Adrian Segecic when they made the move to Fratton Park.
In an ideal world, the Blues will bring in at least two more new additions before Monday’s 7pm deadline.
If they don’t, though, Mousinho won’t be overly concerned.
He added: ‘We feel like we're in a pretty solid position with some of the acquisitions we've made and the players we've brought in so far.
‘It's been slow and steady from that perspective. Hopefully, we have a really good end to the window. There's no guarantees.
‘I think if we don't for whatever reason, because certain things are out of our hands, then we don't. We move on and we think: “right, it's been another solid summer of recruitment” and we go from there.’