‘There’s disappointment there’: Portsmouth boss reveals keeper’s reaction to squad axe

And the Blues boss insisted he has no problem with the 31-year-old’s frustrated reaction to being replaced by Nicolas Schmid between the sticks.

Norris’ ever-present No1 status came to a close against Oxford United, as he paid for a disappointing showing in the Stoke thrashing by being replaced by the new Austrian.

There was a suggestion the former Wolves man’s reaction boiled over, as he was left out of the squad with Jordan Archer on the bench in the 1-1 draw.

Mousinho played down that talk, but acknowledged Norris was not happy to be dropped - a response the Pompey boss was comfortable with.

He said: ‘I think it’s one where there’s disappointment there. I don’t think you can hide from that, I do want players to be disappointed when they are left out of teams and sides.

‘It’s something Will has to knuckle down to, work on and react to.

‘There’s no point having players who are happy to be left out of the side. That would create a lack of competition and fire in the group.

‘All players like that have to work hard and try to get back into the team.

‘Not at all (he wasn’t in the squad for Oxford because of his response to being left out). It was just a case of looking at the disappointment of Will being left out of the side, and thinking if he was in the right frame of mind to be involved on the bench.

‘When we have someone as able as Jordan Archer, who has been pushing for a place in the starting line-up, on the bench it’s just a decision we made and we were happy with.’

Mousinho feels the significance of taking Norris out of his starting XI has been heightened by the fact he’s been an impressive constant presence in his time at Pompey, before more fluctuating form of late.

And the Pompey boss believes there also tends to be an extra focus placed on the keeper department when there are changes made.

He added: ‘There’s been plenty of games when Will has kept us in it and he did a huge amount for us last season.

‘I think that plays into why we’re talking about it and it felt like a big deal, because he played every minute of every game last season and the same this year.

‘Changing keeper feels like a big decision - bigger than anywhere else on pitch - but it’s not.

‘Goalkeepers are always competing for places and if you’re good enough to keep your spot you’re good enough to keep your spot. If you’re not, we make a decision to change that. 

‘Sometimes we right and sometimes we’re not, but that’s what happens and that’s life.

‘We make changes to the team all the time, it’s just magnified when it’s a keeper. No one bats an eyelid when it’s a winger or a forward.

‘The way we see it though, is everybody has a chance to get back into the side.’