'One of the best I've ever come across': Portsmouth boss on why sidelined skipper still vital to Blues success

He has been hailed by John Mousinho as one of the best captains he’s ever come across.

And Pompey’s head coach is adamant Marlon Pack still possesses a pivotal role at Fratton Park, irrespective of whether sidelined through injury or not selected when available.

The 35-year-old is battling to be fit for next month’s south-coast derby after last week undergoing keyhole surgery on his right knee.

The injury, which flared up in the Blues’ penultimate pre-season friendly at Brighton Under-21s, has so far kept him out of the opening three matches of the campaign.

Even before the injury, there was a chance Pack would have lost the captain’s armband for the opener at Oxford United through not being picked.

Regardless, Mousinho has praised the Buckland boy’s ‘superb’ leadership skills both on and off the pitch.

‘He is absolutely superb in the way he conducts himself’

The Blues head coach told The News: ‘Marlon is one of the best captains I have ever seen in my time as a player and as a coach. He is absolutely superb in the way he conducts himself,

‘It was a very, very easy choice when I first took the job to make him captain - and then to make him club captain this summer. That’s not just because of what he does on the pitch and how vocal he is, it’s how he conducts himself off the pitch as well.

‘As an ambassador of the football club and a Pompey fan, he is someone who knows the game brilliantly well. He can help everybody, whether it’s individual conversations, whether it’s in the group.

‘He can have a real impact off the pitch as well. That's why we wanted him with us at Oxford and then Norwich - and Marlon will definitely be on the bus to West Brom as well.

‘Sitting by the dug-out in matches, he gives us a different perspective on things and now understands exactly the way we want to play. He’s been with me for the entirety of my time as Pompey head coach.

‘He gives us a bit of feedback in terms of what the players are thinking, what perhaps needs to be done differently - or keep it the same - and that’s really, really valuable to have.

‘The most important thing is Marlon’s good at what he does. You can be as vocal as you want and put as much presence as you want towards as many people as you want. But if you’re not good, if you aren’t coherent and if you don’t make any sense, it’s irrelevant.

‘Marlon is definitely all three of those things, he’s excellent to have around.’

Made Portsmouth captain in January 2023

Mousinho appointed Pack as captain for his first match as Pompey head coach in January 2023, having played alongside the midfielder at Wycombe 14 years earlier.

Last term saw Matt Ritchie and Regan Poole deputise as skipper during his first-team absences as the Blues retained their Championship status.

And Mousinho is adamant Pack had looked better than ever in pre-season before his untimely injury.

Portsmouth boss: ‘It was the best he’s looked in pre-season’

He added: ‘It was the best he’s looked in a pre-season build-up. He’s always very, very fit and came back for the three pre-seasons we’ve had so far in fantastic shape. I thought he looked really sharp as well.

‘If you look at Reading, he ran the game, he was superb. Before we knew about the injury, Marlon was very, very close to being selected for the starting XI. That was probably the one position we were umming and ahing.

‘Between him John Swift and Andre Dozzell for Oxford, that was a tough selection.’

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