'A very, very short-lived job': John Mousinho toasts creating Portsmouth history - and defying modern-day football
The former Oxford United player has been at Fratton Park for three years, nine months and 14 days
For John Mousinho, the fragility of modern-day management ensures these days it’s ‘a very, very short-lived job’.
Nonetheless, he continues to buck the national trend - and has now become Pompey’s longest-serving boss of the last 38 years.
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Not since Alan Ball’s Fratton Park tenure ended in January 1989, when replaced by John Gregory, has a Blues manager spent as long at the helm for a single spell.
Since arriving under the title of head coach in January 2023, Mousinho has overseen 186 matches, winning 74 of them, while claiming the League One title in 2023-24.
And irrespective of his own ongoing success, Mousinho admits the longevity for club bosses has never been shorter.
‘You’re only living game-to-game. I get that, that’s not going to change’
He told The News: ‘It seems like managerial reigns are getting shorter.
‘I guess one observation in the Championship this year so far is that only one manager has lost his job, it hasn’t been quite as cut throat and quite as ruthless as previously. I don’t know if there’s a bit of a change of direction.
‘The trend in recent years has been it’s been a very, very short-lived job, you have to do very well and you are only living game-to-game. I get that, that’s not going to change.
‘Even if I’ve been here for this amount of time, we still have to make sure the form continues and we kick on. The most difficult part of the job is the pressure that head coaches and managers put on themselves to try to win games and try to be good.
‘Also the fact in this country we have relegation and promotion and such wild swings between the levels. That definitely extenuates everything and makes everything a bit bigger. Losses become the worst thing in the world - and the opposite as well.
‘It is a tough job and what comes of that are the rewards, so you get the lows and the highs of everything in between. I listen to the radio every day and there are questions around managers who you think have had huge amounts of success.
‘One I heard this morning, you have Sunderland who now are in a bit of a run of tough form in the league. Regis (Le Bris) has done an incredible job since he’s gone in there, getting them into the Premier League and Europe.
‘It has been a difficult start to the Premier League for them this season and I am hearing people calling for his head, which, from my perspective, seems absolutely ridiculous. That’s the nature of the game, I suppose.’
One defeat in nine matches
Following an uninspiring start to the 2026-27 season, Mousinho’s men have rallied to lose just one of their last nine matches.
That includes a five-game unbeaten streak since last month’s 1-0 loss at St Mary’s, an encouraging run positioning the Blues within three points of the extended play-offs.
They host high-flying Swansea at Fratton Park tomorrow night (7.45pm), followed by the visit of seventh-placed Stoke on Saturday (12.30pm).
And Mousinho, who has so far been at Fratton Park for three years, nine months and 14 days, continues to flourish in his first managerial job.
‘The club didn’t flinch’
He added: ‘We spoke at length a few weeks ago about some of the swings since I’ve been here, some of the highs and some of the lows. We take that as part of the job as head coach and manager.
‘Whether you’re in the midst of a good run, whether it’s a bad run or anything in between, there are always going to be question marks. There’s always going to be fans who might want to make a change or something else is better, the grass is greener.
‘Sometimes it’s the right decision, you can’t hide away from that. As part of the LMA, as much as we’d love no head coaches to lose their jobs, it does happen - and sometimes it happens for the right reasons.
‘My case in point is we won one in 15 at the start of the 2024-25 Championship season, but the club didn’t flinch and thankfully we are reaping the rewards of that. Different clubs do it in different ways, it’s all about the individual circumstances.’