‘The energy from whole stadium’: Portsmouth boss cites key factor in Leicester City survival showdown
Fratton Park was at its intimidating best against Ipswich Town. John Mousinho sees a similar atmosphere making a significant difference to his side against Leicester City this afternoon.
John Mousinho has pinpointed a bearpit Fratton Park as a potential defining factor in their relegation six-pointer with Leicester City
And the Pompey boss has highlighted the intensity of the home crowd as something which can energise his men once again, as he weighed up the key issues in the potential season-defining meeting with their rivals in the fight for Championship survival.
Mousinho on Fratton factor: ‘It gives us another 10 per cent’
Mousinho’s men bid to take a giant step to remaining in the second tier, in a match which is being billed as a must-win clash for the Foxes.
Pompey’s home was at its white-hot best, as the Fratton Faithful carried their team to a massive victory over Ipswich Town on Tuesday night.
Now the challenge is to go again on and off the pitch, as the Blues search for a win which can carry them to the cusp of safety.
Mousinho said: ‘There’s no doubt our running and amount of energy we have can be affected by what we get back from the stands against Leicester, absolutely.
‘That was evident to me against Ipswich, how much energy we took from the whole stadium when it gets going.
‘It’s always been the case when we’ve got going, whether that be Tuesday nights or Saturday. It gives us another 10 per cent, so I hope we can get that again.’
It’s shaping up into an intriguing battle in terms of how the respective teams approach the game, with Leicester arriving knowing only a win will do as they sit four points from safety.
Pompey boss weighs up Leicester tactical battle
Pompey went five games without a Fratton win, however, before dispatching a Ipswich side who came out on the front foot on Tuesday.
That makes for some fascinating considerations for Mousinho and his old boss Gary Rowett, in terms of how the game plays out.
Mousinho added: ‘There’s been more directness about the way sides play at Fratton Park, certainly over the past eight weeks or so.
‘Swansea would be the exception, when they came and played some good football, but the likes of Derby, Sheffield United and Hull didn’t have a huge amount of interest in playing, probably Oxford the same.
‘That gives us a different challenge, whereas some of our big wins from last year against the likes of Bristol City, Swansea and Coventry were against sides who really wanted to come and play.
‘We got that opportunity to press, so we do have to find a way if sides are a bit more direct against us.
‘Ipswich were always going to want to play, they’re a very good side at that - so it gave us the chance of press.
‘It’s hard to tell (how Leicester will approach the game). Sometimes you look at sides who having been playing football relentlessly, then they don’t when they come to Fratton Park.
‘An example of that is Southampton. Southampton before they played and after were playing out from the back and splitting the play, not going longer.
‘Against us, the two centre-halves split, the keeper went to (Taylor) Harwood-Bellis, he went longer and they settled down off that.
‘It was a different approach to what we’d seen from Southampton, so sides may do that and we have to be prepared for that.
‘We have to deal with both. If we are aggressive with our press and sides miss that out, we have to deal with what comes beyond that as well.’