Portsmouth boss pinpoints big difference set to aid side's Championship start
John Mousinho is overseeing his third pre-season as Pompey boss in Slovakia - and he sees a big difference set to aid his side’s Championship campaign.
John Mousinho saluted Pompey’s ‘perfect’ pre-season build-up in Slovakia as the players ramp up their Championship preparations.
And the Blues boss has highlighted the comfortable temperatures at their base near Bratislava, as a key difference to the previous training camps in his Fratton tenure.
Big difference in Slovakia compared to Spain and Croatia trips
Mousinho is orchestrating the third pre-season in management, after previously travelling to Spain and Croatia since his arrival at PO4.
Temperatures were in the mid-to-high 30 Deg Celsius on both of those trips, meaning Pompey had to factor in the impact the heat was having on his players.
In contrast, after a couple of warm days near Bratislava, it’s been in the low 20s with some periods of heavy rainfall as the Blues squad went about their work.
Mousinho is certain that has been beneficial to his players, with the Pompey coaching staff able to ramp up the intensity of their sessions.
He said: ‘We arrived on Saturday and had a down day to make sure we rested and recovered from the travel. Then it’s been really good training days since then.
‘It’s a brilliant facility here, really sports focussed. The pitches are great and the weather has been really, really good for football training - but maybe not so good for the tourist!
Mousinho: ‘It’s been perfect for Pompey’
‘It’s been perfect for training and a really good camp so far.
‘The weather is one of those things you get in pre-season. You never know what you’re going to get and when.
‘A couple of times we’ve been to places where it’s been too hot to sustain the level of training we want to sustain.
‘Here it’s been cooler temperatures and a bit of rain, which makes the pitch a bit more playable and means we can go really hard at the players.’
Pompey travelled to Croatia with a group down on numbers from the squad who finished the campaign in the Championship.
The six loanees the club had have returned to their parent clubs with Cohen Bramall, Kusini Yengi and Alexander Milosevic released. Furthermore Christian Saydee and Ryley Towler have been sold, with Adrian Segecic the single recruit to date.
It’s means a ‘lean’ Pompey group are away, but that is a situation Mousinho is totally comfortable with.
Mousinho added: ‘There was 19 outfield players training
‘We’re definitely a lean group at the moment. We lost all the loans and a couple of players on permanents, so we’re definitely looking to replace that.
‘That’s first of all on loans where we’ve spoken about when the loans will become available.
‘The other side, in terms of permanents, we’re working hard at it and it’s a case of making sure we get the right player at the right time and are patient with them.’