'That’s what we’ve got to get in our heads' - Portsmouth boss John Mousinho on why Sheffield Wednesday deserve Blues' respect - but nothing more

The Blues head coach said he’ll be making sure his players do not feel overawed by their Fratton Park opponents, who sit proudly at the top of the table as the business end of the season nears.

And he’ll be reminding them of their record at PO4 this season if signs of doubt do emerge.

The fixture sees two of the third tier’s true heavyweights square up to each other in what should be a good advert for League One.

However, there’s a clear gulf in what’s been achieved so far this term by both respective camps. Darren Moore’s side head to the south coast unbeaten in 21 league games and with 10 victories from the past 11 outings.

The Blues, meanwhile, sit 10th in the table and unable to put serious pressure on the play-off places despite a notable improvement in form following Mousinho’s January arrival.

Those faint hopes of a top-six finish suffered a blow on Tuesday night, as the Blues went down to a 3-1 defeat at Barnsley.

It means the Owls sit an eye-watering 23 points above Pompey heading into Saturday.

And while that guarantees the Blues’ respect, Mousinho insisted that’s all it deserves.

He told The News: ‘We’re confident about beating any side that we face at home.

‘We’ve got to do it in the right way, though – make sure that we prepare right and give Sheffield Wednesday the respect that they deserve.

‘It’s a real fine balance when you play sides who are top of the league and playing so well.

‘You’ve got to make sure you balance off how good they are – you respect the opposition and you respect the way they’re playing. But you also have to make sure you’re not overawed by that.

‘The fact that we’re not playing anything other than the 11 men who show up on the pitch on Saturday (is important).

‘And if we do that to the best of our ability, we show up and execute the game plan, then I think we’ll be absolutely fine.’

Despite Pompey remaining unbeaten at home under Mousinho and registering just two Fratton Park defeats all season, the Blues will go into the game as underdogs.

That’s an unusual position for any PO4 team to be in – especially on their own territory.

But Mousinho insisted, if anything, his players will be spurred on by that.

When asked directly about the risk of feeling inferior, he added: ‘I think you can feel that way. But that’s not something I feel is going to be a problem for the boys here.

‘I think part of it will be the opposite for us, actually. We’ll go into it with such good home form and with Fratton Park behind us and, actually, trying to turn the table on that.

‘We’re not playing a club or a history, or an unbeaten run. We’re just playing the team we see on the team sheet on Saturday.

‘That’s what we’ve got to get in our heads. The quicker we do that and the better we do that, then the more we perform.’