Exclusive:John Mousinho on why 'exciting' Portsmouth plans could finally end injury nightmare
The head of performance role is in use at a number of fellow Championship clubs, according to Mousinho
John Mousinho believes the appointment of a head of performance ‘could make a difference’ to Pompey’s awful injury record.
As previously revealed by The News, chairman Michael Eisner has given the go-ahead for the Blues to introduce a new managerial position at the club.
Although the precise title has still to be defined, the head of performance will report to sporting director Rich Hughes and oversee the medical and sports science & conditioning (SSC) departments.
It’s a role currently employed by a number of other clubs - with Mousinho welcoming its imminent introduction to Fratton Park.
And the Blues hope the appointment can go some way towards reducing the amount of injuries which wrack up every season.
‘It's a really exciting role and one a lot of football clubs at this level have’
Mousinho told The News: ‘It’s a role which sits across medical and SSC.
‘At the minute, we have the SSC department, the fitness department, the medical department, so this is a role around maximising player performance from a medical and from a fitness and strength & conditioning standpoint.
‘It is quite a wide-ranging role, there’s a lot of scope within it to try to improve what we are doing at the football club, including looking at the way we train, the way we periodise, the way we prepare, the way we treat players, all of the above.
‘There’s also the way we conduct our strength & conditioning and fitness in pre-season. It's a really exciting role and one a lot of football clubs at this level do have - and we so far haven't had one.
‘We would like to think this would help with our injuries, you never know. But what we are really willing to do at the football club is to look for answers.
‘We don’t think we have all the answers ourselves, we clearly don’t, so it’s doing something to bring in that expertise there. If it does improve the injury situation then great, it’s not going to make the injury situation any worse.’
Portsmouth have nine players out injured at present
With the 2026-27 season now underway the Blues are without Mark Kosznovszky, Thomas Waddingham, Harvey Blair, Jacob Farrell, Franco Umeh, Connor Ogilvie, Keshi Anderson, Josef Bursik and Tayo Singerr.
However, Marlon Pack is now training again and available for Saturday’s trip to Lincoln (12.30pm), having recovered from knee surgery.
And Mousinho is convinced he and his coaching staff can definitely learn from the input of a head of performance.
‘All those sorts of things might make a difference’
He added: ‘The more and more you see with the modern game, the more and more SCC and fitness focus there is.
‘What we would be really receptive to in the coaching department is input from the head of performance about the way we train, the way we block out sessions, and the way we periodise.
‘All those sorts of things might make a difference towards where we are with the injuries.’
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