Portsmouth's 'incredibly impressive' decision praised as Wayne Rooney pinpoints key to crucial Plymouth win

Portsmouth return to action later this afternoon and a tough start to the season is showing no sign of letting up, with promotion candidates Sheffield United the visitors. John Mousinho’s side return to Fratton Park as one of the bottom three and are still in search of a first win, having lost their last three.

The visit of Sheffield United ends a torrid early fixture run and Pompey fans will at least be hoping for a performance they can take encouragement from, ahead of a period in which they need to start picking up points. It’s sure to be another big afternoon at Fratton Park and ahead of kick-off, The News has rounded up some of the latest stories from across the division.

Pompey praise

Former striker Sam Parkin has praised the work of Mousinho at Portsmouth and believes offering him a new contract was the correct decision, despite early struggles. Pompey have endured a tough start to their first Championship campaign in 12 years, picking up just three points from their opening six games.

But those six games have seen Pompey arguably come up against six genuine promotion contenders and there have been positives to take against the likes of Leeds United and Middlesbrough. But Mousinho is under no immediate pressure and instead, put pen to paper on a deal to keep him on the south coast until 2028.

“The achievement of last year should not be forgotten and I think in the long term they are on to a good thing with John Mousinho, incredibly impressive,” Parkin told What The EFL. “You look at the performances this season away from home, maybe Leeds apart, where they probably should have been on the end of a hiding. I think they were unfortunate against Middlesbrough and certainly Burnley; I thought the game plan was really good.”

Plymouth victory

Wayne Rooney praised the togetherness of his Plymouth Argyle side after Friday evening’s excellent 3-1 win at home to Luton Town. The Pilgrims climbed up to 13th in the league with a second victory of the season, with Rami Al Hajj’s opener followed by an excellent Ibrahim Cissoko brace.

“I am delighted for the lads. Friday evening live on Sky and we had a lot of young lads in there, and I am delighted for them,” Rooney said. “We showed great character and desire to go and head the ball... and then the attacking players get all the praise because they score the goals.

“There were lots of things I was happy about. What you are seeing is a real togetherness, everyone at the club - staff and the fans - everyone is buying into what we are trying to do. There's a really good feeling around the club.”