Portsmouth boss’ January transfer spending expectation after Eisner meetings
Michael Eisner’s backing is set to be crucial in the January transfer window for Pompey, amid recent Championship struggles. John Mousinho discusses his belief over the changing dynamic of what’s needed to compete.
John Mousinho is confident of critical Eisner transfer backing in the January transfer window.
And the Pompey boss believes the club’s owners will be receptive to ‘pushing things’ when the next opportunity to recruit arrives in the new year.
Michael Eisner ‘always receptive’ to need for signings
Mousinho acknowledged his club are facing an ‘exceptional’ year in terms of the financial resources at the disposal of the Blues’ Championship rivals.
And the head coach also senses a shifting financial landscape at the level, as spending once again increases.
The Eisner family were in town last week, taking in their side’s 0-0 draw with Wrexham at Fratton Park amid a testing run for Mousinho’s men.
Talks with the Pompey boss and sporting director Rich Hughes took place in the city, with transfer plans for the winter window high on the agenda.
The owners have improved the resources available to the football operation, though their position among the lowest playing budgets in the division is well known. Mousinho is confident there will be the financial backing required to improve his squad to the level required, however.
He said: ‘He (Michael Eisner) always has been receptive (to any player requests), so we’d expect exactly the same. They’ve always been receptive to pushing things, responding to our needs and pushing things.
‘Hopefully people know I’m not one to refer to budgets a huge amount.
‘I think it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out where we are in the pecking order.
‘We’ll always try to outperform that and be better than what we’ve got to spend - I think that’s a badge of pride at the football club.
‘We always push that for forever and a day until we keep building and maybe become a more established Championship club.
‘At the minute we’ve got a very specific task on our hands and we are competing in a very interesting financial landscape with some of the other clubs around.’
Planning for the January window is well underway for Pompey, though the need to be flexible to any changes in the squad picture for the first team is clear - especially in the light of injuries so far this term.
Mousinho is realistic that his club will be once again entering a tough market, after a summer where some targets proved out of the club’s reach against rival interest.
The Pompey boss noted the terrain is vastly changing when it comes what’s needed to compete against fellow second-tier interest for players.
Promoted sides’ financial muscle ‘changes dynamics’ of Championship
He added: ‘It’s just an interesting one in the Championship when you have the amount of clubs you have there with parachute payments.
‘Then this year is an exceptional year in terms of the sides coming up from League One and their spending in the summer. If you look at Wrexham, for example, I think they spent just shy of £40m this summer. So it just changes the dynamics of what’s needed at this level to compete.
‘I think we’ve grown quite well and we’ve grown naturally in terms of budget and what we perceive to be decent enough transfer kitties.
‘It’s just a very tough market to compete in.
‘We spoke in the summer of being able to target players for a certain price, all of a sudden they’re going for £4.5m or £5m. We’re just not in that market. It does make it difficult, but that’s just the Championship.’