Portsmouth boss snubbed for Championship accolade as Middlesbrough secure double success
John Mousinho led Pompey to 11 points from six matches in October.
John Mousinho has been overlooked as the Championship manager of the month.
Despite falling to south-coast derby disappointment to Southampton, the St Mary’s blow prompted an impressive six-game unbeaten streak on the south coast.
It included strong wins against Sheffield United, Norwich City and Millwall as well as draws away to recently relegated Wolves and Burnley.
Pompey boss misses out on Championship accolade
That strong stretch of results has subsequently lifted Pompey into early-season play-off contention, but fell to a frustrating 2-1 defeat to Stoke City prior to the international break.
After guiding the Blues to 11 points from a possible 18, Mousinho was nominated for the October award alongside Southampton’s Tonda Eckert, Middlesbrough’s Kim Hellberg and Birmingham City’s Chris Davies.
However, he EFL have since confirmed the achievement has been awarded to Hellberg, having guided Boro to an unbeaten month, earning 13 points from a possible 15.
The awards panel consisted of former Barnsley boss Danny Wilson, ex-Wolves striker Don Goodman and Sky Bet EFL trader Ivor Davies.
Middlesbrough completed a clean sweep, with striker Will Lankshear snapping up the player of the month accolade.
The England youth international netted seven goals in five matches, with his strikes helping Boro into the automatic promotion spots.
Pompey boss on fixtures: ‘Never really known anything like it’
Since Pompey’s return from the international break, the Blues lost just two of their eight matches, resulting in a rise up the Championship standings.
There were statement victories over Sheffield United, Norwich City, Millwall and high-flying Swansea City as well as draws to Wolves and Burnley.
There was potential for an even greater return with Mousinho’s men in the ascendancy against Stoke last time out, but gave up a two-goal lead in the second half.
He told The News: ‘Had we lost last Tuesday and won against Stoke the feeling would’ve been very different.
‘The biggest thing for me was Stoke was a missed opportunity.
‘The run of games we’ve been on, I’ve never really known anything like it.
‘We have either been playing one of the big boys or one of the high-flying sides.
‘If you look at the run, we played Southampton and Sheffield United - both have been in the Premier League recently.
‘Then we went to Norwich who are clearly a good side, when you look at the run they’ve been on since we played them and what they did to Bristol City on Saturday.
‘We went to Wolves, who’ve won every game up to the weekend after playing us.
‘We played Millwall who are a very good side and finished third last year.
‘Then there was Burnley, Swansea during the week and Stoke on Saturday. These are big, big clubs with big resources and very good sides.
‘So when you take that into context the run we’ve been on is really good. It’s just so frustrating we didn’t follow it up on Saturday.’
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