The big Championship factor boss admits Portsmouth couldn’t deal with

John Mousinho admitted Pompey were handed a ‘rude awakening’ by the physicality of the Championship.

The Blues boss confessed the sheer force on show by his team’s rivals caught him by surprise on his team’s return to the level, after a 12-year absence.

But Mousinho credited his players with adapting to the demands of the division, after some of his team looked out of their depth stepping up early on in the campaign.

Pompey are celebrating keeping their place in the league with two games to spare this term, an outstanding achievement given the arduous opening Mousinho’s men endured after League One title success.

There was no illusions about the size of the take the Blues were facing coming into the season, with the division awash with a number of English football’s heavy hitters.

The Championship certainly justified its place as the fifth best league in Europe in the eyes of many observers, after the Premier League and Spanish, Italian and German top flights.

The quality on offer from sides offered few surprises to the Pompey boss, but Mousinho acknowledged the athleticism and strength being too much for some of his players was a bolt from the blue.

Speaking to Express FM’s James Wilson, Mousinho said: ‘I just think the biggest eye-opener for me is the level of physicality.

‘When you’re watching televised Championship games and not involved in it, you can see how good the level is.

‘You can guess at how good your players may be at that level.

‘What we’ve then had is players making the step up, really good physical players at League One level, who weren’t able to compete early on at that level.

‘You think alright, these players were top-end League One last season, all of my players were top-end League One players who deserved to win the league and deserved to get out of it and have a crack at the Championship. Sometimes that was a bit of a rude awakening.’

Pompey man came through early Championship tests

Connor Ogilvie is a clear example of a player who endured early-season difficulties, before coming through to become a key figure in Mousinho’s side.

Ogilvie struggled at times against a constant procession of the division’s top wingers early on, but his success at the level was seen in the left-back finishing second to Josh Murphy in the The News’ player of the season vote.

A key turning point in Pompey’s season was Mousinho ditching the expansive approach which carried his side into the division, in favour of a more direct style of play with his players pressing high and putting into the hard miles.

Mousinho took pride from the way individuals and the team as whole came through those testing periods to achieve survival success.

He added: ‘Ultimately, what it means is if you make a mistake at this level you will get punished.

‘We made far too many mistakes early in the season, particularly away from home but, yes, we learned our lessons and managed to get through it.’

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