‘Sentiment doesn’t get you far’: Portsmouth boss ready for more cut-throat calls over players’ futures

John Mousinho will not shirk further ruthless calls over his players’ futures this summer.

And the Pompey boss promised to take emotion out of decisions, as the club prepares for a busy transfer window of activity.

The Blues last week announced their retained list, after a successful return to the Championship after a 12-year absence.

Kusini Yengi’s exit was the headline news, with Pompey not taking up an option to keep the striker at Fratton Park next term. That means the man who played a key role in the League One title win is moving on, after an injury-hit season in the second tier.

Cohen Bramall, Tom Lowery, Alexander Milošević and Anthony Scully are also departing in decisions which were anticipated.

As well as players leaving at the end of their deals, Mousinho has indicated Pompey will look to move on contracted players who will not feature significantly next term.

Christian Saydee is one of those, with the head coach believing it’s ‘reasonable’ to look at an exit for the striker to get regular playing time elsewhere. Pompey will do likewise for Ryley Towler and Tom McIntyre, who are both contracted next season, with Paddy Lane told he has to make a ‘massive impact’ to have a Fratton future.

The Blues last year made big decisions over the League One title winners, with the likes Sean Raggett, Joe Morrell and Joe Rafferty moving on. Likewise Pompey made a massive decision in January, with Will Norris leaving after his huge contribution to title victory and being named in the division’s team of the year.

Now Mousinho has made it clear Pompey will once again do what’s required - and that means making some big calls if required.

Pompey boss: ‘Sentiment doesn’t get you particularly far’

He said: ‘It’s a hard one, you want to keep the emotional part of it because it’s important for the football club.

‘We’re fully aware of that, but sentiment doesn’t get you particularly far when you’re trying to win football games - we have to be really wary of that.

‘We made some tough decisions this time last year, with players who’d had really important contributions to the League One title-winning side.

‘This season we had some really big decisions to make with the likes of Will Norris leaving in January. He’s a player who played every single minute of the League One title campaign.

‘It’s tough and they are tough decisions to make, you just have to weigh them up and make sure you make the right decisions for the football club.’

The transfer window opens for Pompey in less than a fortnight, with the first business able to be completed at the start of next month.

The EFL have confirmed there will be a 10-day period of business from June 1 until 7pm on June 10, mirroring Fifa’s ‘exceptional registration period’ due to the expanded Club World Cup. With the window length not allowed to exceed 89 days, it will then close until June 16 - and remain open until 7pm on September 1.

YOUR NEXT POMPEY READ: Here's every retained list confirmed in the EFL so far, after the latest round of announcements.