Portsmouth boss responds to fatigue concerns for critical Leicester City survival showdown
Pompey’s critical six-pointer with Leicester City is their 14th match in 62 days - but John Mousinho has offered a clear stance on concerns over his players continuing to turn up the heat on their rivals.
John Mousinho dismissed fatigue worries as Pompey bid to maintain their outstanding intensity against Leicester City.
And the Blues boss insisted the evidence is there this season his players can keep up their impressive work-rate in the key Championship survival showdown tomorrow.
Mousinho: ‘Perceived tiredness can be exactly that - just in the mind’
Pompey go into the ultimate six-pointer against the Foxes at Fratton Park buoyed by huge back-to-back wins against Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town.
There has been a huge output from the players, however, as they made the longest trip of the season to the Riverside Stadium and picked up a 1-0 win, before putting a huge amount of graft into their 2-0 success under the lights at PO4 on Tuesday night.
Now Pompey must go to the well again in a match with monumental ramifications for their hopes of staying in the Championship this term.
Mousinho sees the potential to make changes if required, however, and believes mindset is key when it comes to maintaining the heat on their opponents.
He said: ‘One of the bonuses on Tuesday was we made four changes in the starting XI.
‘Shaughs (Shaughnessy) came in and we made three changes in behind Colby (Bishop), so we did manage to freshen it up from Middlesbrough.
‘I do think we have that option again, though there’s a couple of injuries with the likes of Gus (Caballero) so we can’t change that but we have options behind that.
‘There’s a couple of things. Firstly, sometimes the perceived tiredness can be exactly that - just in the mind.
‘These players are incredibly fit and we’ve played a lot of Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday games.
‘For my money, whereas last year we struggled in terms of results and looked jaded on the third game of the three, probably not looking fit enough, I don’t think that’s been the case at all.
‘There hasn’t been a single game when it’s been the third of the week and I felt we’ve let ourselves down physically.
‘The Wrexham game was the biggest example when it was the third trip away from home and a long trip to North Wales, but we looked very physically fit in the second half.
‘We then came here for Hull after that and looked strong, so I just don’t think it’s going to be an issue.
‘We’ve got four games to play, so we just need to dig in and find as much as we can.’
Leicester will come into the game fresher than Pompey, after having a clear week while the Blues played their rearranged clash with Ipswich.
Pompey boss on intense schedule: ‘I don’t think it makes huge difference’
The game is the latest of a run of 14 fixtures in 62 days since the loss to Sheffield United on February 14 - a match every 4.4 days.
But Mousinho doesn’t see the mid-week exertions of his players having a huge impact on the meeting with Gary Rowett’s side.
He added: ‘We don’t bury our heads in the sand, if a player’s shattered a player’s shattered.
‘There is a certain element to it which is fine, I do expect players to be tired at this stage of the season because of the games we’ve played and our output.
‘We’ll end up playing 48 games which isn’t too bad, but I guess our issue is the high concentration of games because of the Charlton and Ipswich games being rearranged.
‘That’s the only difference, but there’s big parts which help. Sometimes having those games actually helps and having a break doesn’t help physically.
‘For me, I just don’t think it makes a huge amount of difference. It seems easier when you win, it doesn’t seem a slog.
‘And when you’re defending as well as we are at the moment, the defensive work doesn’t seem so difficult. If it is difficult, it’s because you’re conceding goals.’