The blueprint for a Portsmouth signing: John Mousinho outlines what he’s looking for in January window

John Mousinho has constructed his Identikit for the perfect Pompey signing. And the Blues boss has stressed the importance of new faces this month not upsetting a harmonious dressing room at Fratton Park.

Recruitment work is continuing this month, with the League One leaders looking to be active in the transfer market as they chase a place in the Championship.

Mousinho told how there’s a lot of homework going into researching the character of the players being pursued. And the head coach made it clear signings will only be brought in if they tick the boxes for what’s required to be a Pompey player.

Mousinho said: ‘We don’t want players to fit the same mould, but we certainty want players who want to be here and relish the challenge - and understand the challenge.

'They need to understand coming to play football at Fratton Park is a privilege, because of the pressure which comes with it. We need players who can stand up to that and are humble about that as well, and as they go about their business reflect the city as a whole. I think we do.

‘I know most clubs would say the same, but at Portsmouth you can’t be short of hard work, passion and endeavour. Of course they want to see a bit of quality as well, but if you have that you’re more than halfway there.

‘There are certain things we demand day in, day out and whenever we’ve fallen below that standard we’ve been punished this season.

‘I think you can’t afford it (ego). You have to have a certain amount of confidence, but you don’t want egos spilling over into anything.

‘You see that in the way we go about our business after winning games. After games we want to celebrate with fans but we want to get on with it, because there’s another game coming.

‘We don’t want to be too carried away with ourselves. A big part of that is we do want to take confidence in what we do, but no one thinks they’ve cracked. The minute you think you’ve cracked it you’re in real trouble at any level.

‘The ego element can creep in sometimes, but I haven’t seen that at all this year.’

Colby Bishop spoke of the harmony in the Pompey dressing room this week, with that unity likely to an important character in moments when resolve is tested over the second half of the campaign.

Mousinho knows it’s paramount that isn’t imbalanced by any new players coming through the door. 

He added: ‘In recruitment we deliberately spend a lot of time trying to recruit the right people - good people.

‘The likes Marlon, the two Joes and Colby spend a lot of time in the dressing room completely away from myself and the staff, making sure they have a good working environment and the culture is right. You don’t want to upset that. It’s really important to the football club that whenever you bring anyone in they are the right fit for Portsmouth.

‘I think there’s a certain type of player we demand comes into the group and the fans demand come into the group. A lot of those qualities and traits you need to make sure those players have and they don’t disrupt anything.’