‘You don’t get sold for £2m without standards’: Portsmouth boss’ plan to unleash Cardiff City arrival’s class

And the Pompey boss is adamant the summer arrival of Cardiff can reach his previous highs in the game at Fratton Park.

Whyte’s had a relatively quiet start to his Blues career, after his capture from Championship side Cardiff City generated summer excitement.

The man who moved to Wales for £2m from Oxford United in 2019 has seen plenty of bright moments in the game - and Mousinho feels he can help his old U’s team-mate get back to those heights.

He said: ‘You don’t go for the money Gav went to the Championship for without having standards.

‘He’s got 30-odd caps for Northern Ireland and goals, he’s well deserving of all of those things.

‘He has a league winner’s medal from this division. You don’t achieve those things without having standards you set for yourself.

‘Gavin certainly has that and that’s one of the reasons we think it’s advantageous for him to come here.

‘He can work with me and I do understand Gavin’s top-level potential.

‘I’ve seen it and that’s what we want to work towards getting out of him.’

Mousinho saw Whyte make a big impact after arriving at Oxford from Northern Ireland in 2018.

And, after watching the 27-year-old in training at close quarters, he can see the talent which saw his standing soar is still present.

He added: ‘Leyton Orient was probably his best game out of the six, and I still think he’s nowhere near where he could be from what we’ve seen in the past of him.

‘We’re not going to just harp on about the past for the sake of it.

‘But what we see in training and what Gavin knows he’s capable of, we can get back there and get better than that.

‘It’s not just a case of holding on to things which once were – we’re confident we can get there.’