'Weight of the world on my shoulders': John Mousinho addresses Portsmouth pressure
The Blues have one win in nine matches and host Wrexham on Wednesday night
Defiant John Mousinho has ‘the world's pressure’ on his shoulders - and he’s revelling in it.
Following three successive defeats, including a dismal 4-0 hammering at Birmingham, Pompey’s head coach is attracting growing criticism as his out-of-form side slips closer to the relegation battle.
Barely over a fortnight ago, the Blues were being lauded having inflicted Championship leaders Middlesbrough’s maiden defeat and collected an impressive Saturday night point at Leicester City.
Now placed 20th-placed, Pompey head to Wednesday evening’s clash with Wrexham (8pm) with some sections of the Fratton faithful voicing doubts over Mousinho’s ongoing presence at the helm.
And while the head coach acknowledges the pressure, he’s adamant he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Portsmouth boss: That would be a boring place to be
He told The News: ‘Genuinely, the pressure is always the same and that’s always immense.
‘There may be four games I can remember in my Pompey career where probably going into them the pressure isn’t quite there. Two when we had already won League One and two last season when we had secured our Championship status.
‘Yet, by the time the game kicked off, the pressure was still immense because we want to win every match.
‘Every single time I set foot on the football pitch or I stand in the technical area or I prepare for the game, I find there's a huge amount of pressure. That’s mainly from myself and, quite rightly, from everybody connected to the football club, such as the fans and the city, wanting us to win.
‘That’s great, it’s the only way it should be. I never, ever, ever want to approach a football match and not feel the pressure to win, that would be a boring place to be.
‘Some people will approach it differently, some people will sit here and talk about this isn’t pressure, pressure is putting food on the table for kids. Fine, that’s just not the way I see it.
‘I see it as a massively pressurised job because of what I expect of myself and what I expect of our team, every single day.
‘Every match I have ever had as a Pompey manager, take four of those out because I don’t want to completely lie to the fans, but every game I feel the world's pressure on my shoulders - and that’s what I like about my job.
‘And I think that’s what people like about football.’
One win in nine matches
With 138 career games as Pompey head coach since his appointment in January 2023, the 39-year-old is no longer a rookie.
Having steered the Blues back into the Championship as League One champions in his first full season, he took them to an admirable 16th place last term.
With one win from their last nine fixtures - and frustration cracked up following the St Andrew’s humbling, Wrexham inevitably ranks as a must-win game.
Seasons can change quickly, as Mousinho knows only too well, but there is no ‘panic’.
‘Let’s not be naive - and let’s not panic’
He added: ‘I remember the question after that Leicester draw was along the lines of how far can this team go? The questions now are very different, it’s about can we dig ourselves out of this rut. That’s no issue.
‘It’s only three games, it’s a small sample size of the season, and it’s getting that balance between being realistic about it, let’s not be naive - but also let’s not panic.
‘Let’s make sure we do the right things at the right time and hopefully get a result off the back of that.’