Portsmouth chief Rich Hughes: We will never shy away from making unpopular player decisions

The Blues are presently finalising their retained list, with seven players out of contract this summer, including Kusini Yengi, Zak Swanson, Ben Killip and Cohen Bramall.

Last May, the surprise departures of first-team regulars Sean Raggett and Joe Rafferty in the aftermath of capturing the League One title earned criticism from some supporters.

Instead, sporting director Hughes oversaw a sizeable squad overhaul in the summer of 2024, with 15 players recruited ahead of a first Championship campaign for 12 years.

As a consequence of such changes - plus eight more new additions in the January transfer window - John Mousinho’s men subsequently secured safety with two matches to spare and finished 16th.

And Hughes insists the Blues are prepared to continue making ‘less popular decisions’ should the need arise.

He told The News: ‘You have to make big decisions, that’s what we are put in situ for. We must make what would be the less popular decisions.

‘Whenever John picks a team he thinks that team can win a game, Similarly, whenever we try to sign a player or we let somebody go, we’re doing it because we think it’s for the betterment of the football club.

‘There's an inevitability that sometimes we get those things wrong - but the aim is to get more right than you get wrong.

‘It’s hard as well when you tie in the emotional side of that. Last summer we had Raggs, a big fan favourite here and rightly so for what he achieved at the football club and being part of winning the league.

‘Also Raffs, a very popular member of the group, the community, the area, and a really boisterous personality.

‘When you make big decisions like that, there’s always going to be an instinct to turn the spotlight on those if things then aren’t going well - and we will always accept it and take it. But we made those decisions for the betterment of the football club and what we felt was right for the Championship.

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‘Would there have been times this year when they would have helped us? Probably, yes when we’ve been down with bodies. But we could never have forecast the season to go the way which it did.

‘I don’t think it’s a case of being proven right, it’s just that justification that we made the decisions for a reason. We wanted to make sure we’ve got the squad in the best shape for the Championship.’

Pompey demonstrated their ruthlessness in January by offloaded summer signing Elias Sorensen and Sammy Silvera.

Silvera was a little more straightforward, involving cancelling his scheduled season-long loan from Middlesbrough at the halfway point - with the winger then linking up with League One Blackpool.

In the case of Sorensen, the Blues had signed the Dane for an undisclosed fee in August, yet five months later were eager to move him on following an underwhelming stay amid family issues.

The striker was subsequently sold to Norwegian side Valerenga after one goal in 13 appearances for Pompey.

Hughes: Elias Sorensen didn’t work out - so we had to change it

Hughes added: ‘This is where we do have the backing of the board. Sometimes in football things don’t work and one of the strengths we have as a group is we’re not too proud and try to double down when things don’t work.

‘If we then get an opportunity to get out of a position we feel we can strengthen, we will do it, that’s always going to be our MO. We are never going to double down on a bet we don’t like. If it’s not working for us, we will try to change it.

‘Elias Sorensen hasn’t worked, he had a couple of moments where things could have gone a bit differently, but they didn’t. We had an opportunity to move him on and then could replace and change the group around.

‘We will never shy away from making big calls.’

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