‘Thank you very much, Vitor’: Mousinho responds to Swansea boss over Portsmouth’s 'too extreme' physicality
Swansea City boss Vitor Matos suggested Pompey were ‘really physical’ and ‘sometimes too extreme’, after being defeated at Fratton Park. Here’s what the Blues head coach had to say in response.
John Mousinho has dismissed the suggestion his side’s physicality went too far in their victory over high-flying Swansea City.
And the Pompey boss insisted his men need to be ‘aggressive and physical’ to prosper in the Championship, as he welcomed Swans boss Vitor Matos’ comments about his team in the wake of Tuesday’s 3-1 win at Fratton Park.
Pompey boss Mousinho: ‘I’ve never seen a good side that’s soft’
But Mousinho is adamant that approach didn’t veer into the realms of operating with malice, as the Blues made it six games unbeaten and stopped the Welsh side going top of the Championship.
In the wake of the game, Matos stated Pompey were ‘really physical, really direct and really vertical - sometimes too extreme’, as he suggested referee Matt Corlett didn’t handle the game in the correct manner.
Mousinho was adamant he didn’t watch a dirty contest, however, as his team adapted their approach to combat Swansea’s threats.
When asked about Matos’ comments, the Pompey boss said: ‘Thank you very much, Vitor.
‘What would I say to that? I think the way we played was a consequence of how Swansea pressed. They press with unbelievable intensity, the next man goes and the next man goes.
‘We’ve seen this season we don’t mind playing from the back, creating angles and getting the ball up the pitch like that, if it’s on.
‘The first goal we played one or two passes, committed four of Swansea’s press, played beyond and picked up the seconds - Terry (Devlin) ended up scoring.
‘If you do that and compete in the Championship you have to be aggressive and physical.
‘I saw absolutely no signal on the pitch that we went over the top and turned it into this dirty game - not at all.’
Swansea came away from Tuesday’s defeat with defender Stephen Welsh suffering a knee injury, after being forced off following a challenge from Ebou Adams which saw the Pompey man booked.
Mousinho didn’t see that challenge as one from the midfielder with any dark intent, but made it clear he expects his players to compete and not show a ‘soft underbelly’.
He added: ‘I thought the challenge was unlucky and I didn’t think it was a particularly poor challenge from Ebou. I can’t actually remember any other incident in the game that was untoward involving one of our players.
‘We challenge, we compete. If you go out in the Championship, aren’t physical and don’t look after yourself you’re in a world of bother.
‘I didn’t see anything at any point of the game where there was malice in there.
‘Swansea’s midfield three was Stamenic, Franco and Fulton - that’s a physical midfield Championship three, don’t worry about that.
‘Fair play to them and I think Swansea are a fantastic team, by the way.
‘Any time a Championship manager says something like that about my team, that’s great.
‘I think it’s brilliant. I’ve never seen a good side that’s soft, I’ve never seen a side with a soft underbelly. So that’s pleasing.’