'Short-term thinking': Portsmouth boss on why Blues' have been forced to rip up transfer model - for now
The Blues have focused on experience rather than youthful talent in the January transfer window to date
Pompey have shelved their recruitment model to focus on the pursuit of short-term gains.
Nonetheless, John Mousinho is adamant the change of transfer policy is purely temporary as the Blues strive to remain in the Championship.
This month has seen the arrivals of Millenic Alli, Ebou Adams and Keshi Anderson - three experienced players with Championship credentials.
Alli and Adams have already made their presence felt during a haul of four points from successive away games at Sheffield Wednesday and Watford, while Anderson is in the frame for a debut against Southampton.
It marks a pausing in policy for Pompey, who have previously identified signing highly-regarded young talent to develop before potentially profiting from their sales.
Not that Mousinho is complaining, with recruiting battled-hardened players this month absolutely crucial amid another relegation battle and an injury list now lengthened to 10 players.
And he expects a similar calibre of player to arrive at Fratton Park before the February 2 deadline, rather than untried youngsters.
‘It’s solely based on the situation we are in now’
The Blues’ head coach told The News: ‘We have a short-term focus, which means we’re looking at bringing players in which we think can definitely affect us for the next three months.
‘We were in a similar position last season, with the likes of Hayden Matthews and Tom (Waddingham) who came in and did have an input, but we weren’t looking at that.
‘So we only did Hayden once we did Rob (Atkinson), we did Tom once we were confident that we’d had a good deal and added a couple of players to the top of the pitch. Kas (Yengi) was back from injury, we still had Mark (O’Mahony) and Christian (Saydee) at the time.
‘This January, we have so far added three players who have played in the Championship, two 30-year-olds and one who is slightly younger with Milli, who has a lot of promise. That is much more of an indication of where we are going this window.
‘That’s not a reflection on last summer’s transfer window, it’s solely based on the situation we are in now with the pressures of trying to stay in the league. In a different position, maybe we try to build, maybe we try to take care of some of the summer recruitment now.
‘We have parameters to work within, which I think we do pretty well. We are battling against some of the big boys down there as well, which is a bit unexpected this year.
‘Some of the clubs we wouldn’t necessarily have expected to be down there, that has made things very different at the bottom of the league, the three clubs coming up as well and the amount they have spent. We haven’t necessarily got that.
‘For us it’s about being pro-active, a little short-term thinking. Right, what actually puts us in the best position to have a good summer window by staying in the Championship.’
Mousinho holds Terry Devlin up as a perfect example of young players requiring time to find their feet in Pompey’s first-team.
He arrived as a 19-year-old midfielder from Glentoran in June 2013, making six League One starts in his maiden season as the Blues claimed the title.
Now he has established himself as Mousinho’s first-choice right-back in the Championship, totalling 84 outings and five goals.
And, having signed a new three-and-a-half year deal in February 2025, the 22-year-old is safely contracted at Fratton Park until the summer of 2028.
‘We don’t necessarily have the time’
Mousinho added: ‘We’re trying to bring younger players in to develop and that’s a difficult thing to do. It’s still something we are looking to focus on with the squad we have here, but it does take time.
‘When you look to bring in a young player, Terry is a really good example. He is two-and-half-years into his Pompey career, he hardly played in the first season, six league starts.
‘In the second year, it took him a while to find his position, then he was in and out, he had a good handful of games. It has taken him that time to establish himself in the side and look like he’s a Championship player, albeit completely out of position. I think he’s a right-back now.
‘That’s just an example, it does take time to give players that breathing space, to give players chances to make mistakes and, at the minute, we don’t necessarily have the time to bring players in and think about giving them a bit of game time and developing them.
‘When topping League One, you could stick Terry in here and there, we are dominating games, it’s much easier to do. We just have to be a bit more pragmatic in the short term.’