Portsmouth boss offers insight as he faces huge Millwall keeper call for Championship return
The former Stoke City man has shone in the impressive Austrian’s absence. With Nicolas Schmid making his Championship return and Josef Bursik catching the eye, John Mousinho has to make a big Millwall selection decision.
John Mousinho welcomed the ‘useful headache’ he’s facing as he prepares to make his big goalkeeper decision.
The Pompey boss saluted the performance levels of Josef Bursik, as the summer arrival impressively assumed the number one role in the face of Nico Schmid’s stint on the sidelines.
Mousinho: ‘Provides us with a really useful headache’
But Mousinho underlined the Blues are welcoming back one of their outstanding performers, as Schmid prepares to make his return from over two months on the sidelines.
The Austrian has been missing since fracturing the metacarpal bone in his hand against Southampton in September.
Ben Killip replaced Schmid in the south-coast derby before Bursik took on the mantle at Ipswich Town, with the former Stoke City man playing the ensuing nine games.
The 25-year-old has excelled as one of his team’s best performers in that time, offering a calm presence and making impressive saves along the way.
Schmid, however, has operated at a consistently high level since joining from BW Linz for around £350,000 in August last year.
It makes for a massive selection call for the Pompey boss, as his team return to Championship action at Fratton Park this weekend.
Mousinho said: ‘Joe's performing very, very well and has the number one shirt, Nico was performing well and was one of our outstanding players last season.
‘He was in the top three for player of the season for pretty much everyone connected to the club - so that provides us with a really useful headache.
‘We've needed Joe to perform to the levels he has, we've needed our goalkeepers to make saves.
‘We need goalkeepers in there to bail us out in big moments - Joe has performed very, very well doing that.
‘If you'd said prior to the season that Nico would miss a huge chunk and we'd have a very, very able deputy, I'm sure people would have thought that's a great position to be in but I'm not sure it'll be the case.
‘We're really pleased that we've not only got Joe performing, but we have Ben (Killip) pushing them along as well.’
Pompey well stocked in keeper department for Championship
While injuries have put strain on other areas of Pompey’s squad, the goalkeeping department is one area where Mousinho looks to be amply stocked.
Schmid has been the established first choice in his time at PO4, with Bursik making his mark since signing as the summer window’s close.
Killip has made three appearances this season and produced a broadly calm display as he replaced Schmid in the heat of a south-coast derby, keeping a clean sheet in the 0-0 draw.
Jordan Archer, who was Schmid’s deputy last season, remains at Pompey with his deal running until the end of the season.
Meanwhile, academy graduate Toby Steward has been picking up plenty of accolades as he impresses north of the border with Scottish Championship leaders St Johnstone.
Mousinho added: ‘It's why we wanted to strengthen that department and go with players who can compete not just for the number two shirt, but for the number one shirt as well.
‘So having Ben and Joe in there as real competitors with Nico means we're expanding in that area, so we can keep going and pushing.’