'We were looking at a couple' - Portsmouth boss John Mousinho shares glimpse of what went on at Fratton Park on transfer deadline day and gives verdict on Blues' business

The Blues head coach revealed several signing options had been explored in the run up to Tuesday night’s 11pm deadline.

But he said the Fratton Park outfit were not prepared to force anything through as they stuck to their guns on certain matters.

And that didn’t stop Pompey from achieving their objectives ahead of the window’s closure, with Mousinho pleased with the work that saw Di’Shon Bernard and Paddy Lane delivered.

Exeter’s Jevani Brown was among those linked with a move to PO4 on deadline day but no move materialised.

We were looking at a couple,’ said Mousinho, when asked if other targets had been explored ahead of the cut-off point.

'And if anything else popped up it was always going to be an option, so we were always working off the list that we had.

'That was something that was always part of our plan - just to monitor and see where we were with anything.

'A few were never going to be that likely. Again, it was all about bringing the right ones in and not forcing anything.

'And in terms of priorities, the two that we brought in certainly ticked those boxes.'

Tuesday’s deadline day was Mousinho’s first as a head coach.

Such occasions can be stressful affairs, with clubs looking for last-minute deals and frantically trying to get paperwork registered in time.

That often leaves fans on tenterhooks right up until the last minute, hoping for some late night drama.

The Pompey boss painted a different picture, though, from within the corridors of power at Fratton Park.

He said it was all very relaxed, with the Blues wrapping everything up well before 11pm

'It was great, really enjoyable, it wasn't too hectic,’ added Mousinho.

'We had most of our business wrapped up a couple of hours before the deadline, which was pleasing.

'We made sure all the paper work was done and everything was registered, particularly with Paddy, on Tuesday evening.

'Di'Shon was done pretty early on and he trained with us on Tuesday.

'So it was quite calm. There wasn't a huge amount of activity late on and, yeah, we were really pleased with it by about 8.30pm.

'We packed up, kept out phones on, just in case, but shook hands and went home.’