'We've lost one session since I've been here': John Mousinho on why Portsmouth training home has never been better

John Mousinho has hailed Pompey’s training ground vision - and sung the praises of existing facilities.

This summer is set to signal important changes at their Copnor Road training base, with staff offices to be relocated into the Pompey Health & Fitness Club building.

In turn, that will allow existing Portakabins to be removed, creating space for the construction of one new playing surface.

That will increase the number of first-team grass pitches to three, plus the existing goalkeeper training area. In addition, the Academy have their designated Tifosy-funded pitch at the back of the complex.

Mousinho insists the Hilsea venue has been unable to host training on just one occasion since his January 2023 arrival as head coach - when frozen pitches forced them to instead use the 4G at the John Jenkins Stadium in January.

And with both main pitches having undergone drainage work last year, he believes Pompey’s training surfaces have never been better.

Mousinho told The News: ‘Hopefully one day we’ll have all-singing, all-dancing undersoil heating and everything in between, but we have got to remember we’re in the infancy of owning the training ground.

‘This club has gone through years and years of success on the football pitch and no infrastructure being built anywhere else, so we’re trying to do that the right way and making sure we build things properly.

‘One day at Pompey we’ll have every single thing we possibly need, but, at the minute, we have all the facilities we need to be a success at this level.

‘The training pitches have been great, the club spent a lot of money on them last summer and they now drain really well. Honestly, with all the rain this winter, the ground staff have done an unbelievable job of rotating the pitches and keeping them nice.

‘We had torrential rain in the build up to Stevenage (New Year’s Day), so we booked the John Jenkins Stadium - and ended up not needing to go there because our pitches coped with it so well.

‘The only time we’ve not been able to use the training pitch since I’ve been here was that Tuesday for the Aldershot friendly (in January) - and that was because the pitch was frozen. There were games called off all over the country because of the same thing.

‘Sometimes I beg, steal and borrow ideas from other coaches and other managers, asking for training footage to see new drills. I also visit other training grounds and we’re definitely right up there in terms of pitches.

‘Fratton Park it’s absolutely immaculate, definitely the best pitch in League One. I would also say our pitches at the training ground - for this stage of the season and where we are in the country - are in really, really good condition.

‘Having played for many, many years, you know training grounds sometimes aren’t up to scratch, but we are really happy with what we have here.’

The Academy’s training pitch was funded by 5,494 supporters through a Tifosy campaign in 2014, raising £270,000 for its construction.

It is used by the under-18s - with the first-team allocated two-and-a-half grass pitches at the front of the Hilsea venue. 

Mousinho added: ‘For me, extra grass space at first-team level is the most important thing, rather than 4G. We’ve also got the possibility to update all the Astro cages into 4G.

‘Anything we ask the club for on pitches, maintenance and ground staff, it’s never in short supply, so we’re really happy.’