Pompey boss John Mousinho talks to The News ahead of Wednesday night's trip to Ewood Park.
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00:00So Jon, no cup competitions to think about now, it's just purely championship survival,
00:06how does that feel?
00:08I mean, it feels good that we've got one competition to focus on, it doesn't make the loss on Friday
00:14night any better, we wanted to try and progress in the competition if we could and yeah, it's
00:19one of those things that is annoying because we did want to progress, I suppose the positive
00:23is that it's one less away game, another one where we actually get to play Sheffield
00:29United at the back end of the month rather than having to reschedule that and yeah, we've
00:32got full focus on the league which has always been the priority this year.
00:36You mentioned after the Wiccan performance saying that it wasn't up to the standards
00:39that you're trying to set, so where do you think that went wrong and how are you feeling
00:43about that game on reflection?
00:45Yeah, very similar really, I just thought that after an excellent start to the game
00:49we went and watched the game back objectively as we always would and showed the players
00:52the positives of how I thought we completely dominated the first 15 minutes, created the
00:57chances, we had 80% of possession and we looked purposeful with it and then conceded a goal
01:01and that just shook us and we never recovered from that and the best example of why I thought
01:07that was the case at the time, you look at the second goal where we just conceded really
01:11neatly from a set piece which we spoke to the boys about, I can take conceding goals
01:15and take losing games, it's the nature of how we did it and I think that's been really
01:20evident throughout the season when we've put in the effort, when we've put in the shift,
01:24when we've looked aggressive, when we've looked on the front foot, then if we've lost
01:27games that's absolutely fine or drawn games that's fine, most of the games where we have
01:30been on it we've won, but the other side of the coin I think when we've went a goal down
01:34and sometimes felt a bit sorry for ourselves we end up going and conceding another set
01:37piece and that for me is the bit that we really outlined on Saturday morning as an acceptable
01:41and something that the squad really have to take ownership of and make sure we deal with
01:45better.
01:46There was an incident with Jordan Archer coming off at half time as well due to an injury,
01:50I think it was a quad, what's the latest there?
01:52Jordan's having a scan this afternoon so we know the results tomorrow but we're hoping
01:55it's just a neural issue and if it is then it shouldn't be any more than a couple of
01:59days out.
02:00Any other injuries to report from that?
02:02No, no other injuries from the game, clean bit of health.
02:05And some players who were nearing a return the last time we heard, Regan Paul, how's
02:09he getting on?
02:10Yeah, Regan's okay, Regan's about a week away from getting back and doing a modified training
02:16session so next week he'll start joining in, not full training but he'll be doing a few
02:20bits here and there in the week after, back in full training.
02:22Conor shot missing?
02:23Conor trained for the first time today, full training session, so Conor's back, he'll be
02:28two or three weeks away from return to play but he's back out on the grass.
02:31At the other end of the pitch, Kasidi Yengi and Marco Mane, what are their current situations?
02:35Yeah, Marc is probably a week or two away from return to training and Kas, we're looking
02:40at, he's just out of his knee brace so probably about four weeks for Kas.
02:43And some good news from Friday, Isaac Hayden, it was announced he was signing until the
02:47end of the season, how pleased are you to get him in through the door and what can he
02:50bring to the team?
02:51Yeah, we were thrilled, he's one of our top targets from early on in the transfer window
02:55to get somebody with that amount of experience at the Premier League, that amount of experience
02:59in the Championship and also recent experience in the Championship so I think for a player
03:03that's had a real impact in a side that was struggling last year and boosted QPR to where
03:10they ended up finishing, I think it was a massive part of that for us to be able to
03:12get him was really, really pleasing and he comes in with a very calm head, knowledge
03:16of how to play the position, knowledge of how to play at the level and I think overall
03:20a very, very good signing for us.
03:22And already in through the door, Rob Atkinson, we've seen him on a couple of occasions now,
03:25how's he settling in?
03:27Yeah, Rob's settling in really well, I think it was great to get him to first start in
03:31maybe two years on Friday and what we wanted to do was make sure we got him through 45
03:35without injury which we managed to do and just to get him used to the process of starting
03:39football games again, the physicality involved, getting into the way that we want to play
03:45as well. So just from that point of view, we obviously would have liked to have got
03:49to half-time with a better scoreline but the most important thing from Rob's point of view
03:52is to get through without getting injured.
03:54And it was announced that Jacob Farrell is facing another setback due to injury which
03:59means Connor Ogilvie has played a lot of minutes this season so far, is that left-back position
04:04somewhere you're looking to strengthen in the window?
04:06Not at the minute, it's not something really anticipated having to strengthen so we are
04:12looking at possible options there if anything does pop up but at the minute, yeah, we've
04:18got other positions that we think are a potential priority and we have to be wary of the squad
04:23list as well so there's nothing imminent there.
04:26So what areas are you looking in specifically?
04:28There's plenty, there's plenty so I'll tell you when we sign him.
04:32Okay, in terms of outgoings, Alain Sorensen was first out, you mentioned there could be
04:37some more, is there anything imminent on that front?
04:41No, nothing, we're working hard on the two that are obvious which are Ben Stevenson and
04:46Tom Mowry who we're trying to find clubs for and I think it's just a case of us demonstrating
04:54to other football clubs that the reason they've been out is because they haven't been registered,
04:58not because of how they've trained, not because of injuries or anything like that so I think
05:02those two are their priority and then as we go through the window we're okay on squad
05:05numbers at the moment so as it sort of stands we're all right so it'll be probably looking
05:12at one in, one out but at the minute we've actually got a bit of space so it's not the
05:16end of the world if we bring someone in and no one else moves on.
05:19So it's back to Championship action this week, last time Sunderland were away we saw some
05:24big improvements of that away performance despite the scoreline not going our way, how
05:29encouraging was that for you?
05:31It was good, it was a step in the right direction I think, especially again we rent a goal down
05:35early on but this time away at Sunderland we didn't fold, disappointing to concede the
05:39goal in the manner that we did, again I think you can take conceding goals all the time,
05:44I didn't think Sunderland had to do anything brilliant to score that, we gave them the
05:49possession, of course they broke really well from deep and Isidore's a real threat, we
05:52know that so yeah it was a good goal from their perspective but it was disappointing
05:57that we had possession of the ball and we'd actually started the game fine so yeah a lot
06:02of encouraging signs from the Sunderland game, particularly as we looked threatening in the
06:05last 10-15 minutes with 10 men but we have to build on that, we have to do better than
06:09that, we have to make sure that we return these frustrating away performances where
06:12they're narrow, the Sunderland game, the Watford game in particular, we've got to turn those
06:16into points at least and then there are certain games, there's loads of games away from home
06:20that we've been in for a long time, we've been leading until late and we just haven't
06:24quite been able to go and execute and manage to win the game so we've really got to turn
06:28that bit around.
06:29So you travelled to the North East recently, it was then Wickham away, Buckinghamshire,
06:33now you're heading to Lancashire to face Blackburn, a lot of travelling, how's that
06:37affecting the team?
06:38It's just one of those things, I mean I think since Boxing Day up through to this game it's
06:43going to be five out of six away games, it does feel like we're on the road every game
06:47and I think that'll come back and pay us back the other way I think in the next few games
06:53when we've got maybe four or five at home and yeah things do flip around but certainly
06:57the first half of the season it's felt like that with a huge amount of travel and I know
07:01the people that are listening to this will know that because the majority of them have
07:04been away with us on the road so it's been interesting from that point of view.
07:08I think that the benefit of us having this game now is that we didn't have a league game
07:12at the weekend so we managed to leave players out, we managed to leave quite a few players
07:16at home, it wasn't a particularly long or arduous journey up to Wickham, it was one
07:19of the shorter ones so we go up to Ewood Park nice and fresh.
07:23So you originally played Blackburn back in November, where do you feel your team are
07:27at now in comparison, do you feel you're in a better place to face a playoff contender?
07:31I think so, I think if you look at where we are since that Blackburn game, we'd come off
07:36the back of a really positive result, there was I think the international break and we'd
07:40had the Preston result before that but certainly since then, if you look at our form since
07:46then there's plenty of games that we want to improve upon but also some really good
07:51performances in and around that as well, we had the Swansea game straight after that,
07:54Crystal City, Norwich, Coventry, Swansea in terms of the really, really positive performances
07:59with a couple of those away ones where we didn't get the result, sort of dotted in there
08:03so I think we've built up a lot of momentum since then, I think that certainly around
08:07that time when we were going to play Blackburn they went on a very, very good run after that
08:11so it's going to be, yeah it's going to be a really interesting one, we certainly went
08:14up there and wanted the game to be on, I know Blackburn did as well and we fancied our chances
08:18and I think it's a case of going there again with a lot of positivity and trying to get
08:22something out of the game.
08:23They're sitting just outside the play-offs currently and they haven't won in five Championship
08:27matches so in terms of form they're not really performing at their best currently so what
08:31are your thoughts on the opposition going into this one?
08:34Yeah I don't think, I think the form's irrelevant for them, say what you want obviously about
08:38the Championship form, they had a brilliant win at the weekend in the FA Cup and they've
08:42got a really, really good squad who have proved time and time again probably against a lot
08:47of the odds and probably against a lot of what people would think about them pre-season
08:50that they've surpassed all expectations and I think they thoroughly deserve to be where
08:53they are, they probably deserve to be a bit higher on the table to be honest in terms
08:56of what we've seen, we've seen some really, really good performances from Blackburn, I
09:02look over the last few games, took a point up at Ellum Road, I thought they were unlucky
09:05not to take anything against Burnley, unlucky not to take anything against Hull, couple
09:09of games where they probably will rue their missed chances and a bit of bad luck here
09:13and there so yeah I don't think it's an extremely busy period, another part of the thought process
09:18on Friday night behind making the changes to make sure we're fresh going into that so
09:22we've got to make sure that we protect the squad and protect the starting XI from that
09:25point of view and just go in and attack these games and relish them, there's still plenty
09:31of travel within that but a few more home games as well and I think that's a really
09:34positive thing for us.
09:35Obviously with Jordan Archer the concern is it might be serious, that's why he's having
09:41a scan, is he definitely out of Wednesday already would you say either way?
09:44No, not yet, if we get the results and it's just a neural issue this afternoon then he'll
09:48be fine for Wednesday.
09:49I can't say the word now, what would be your contingency plan?
09:53We're fine, we've got three goalkeepers so no issue on that, we're absolutely fine in
09:58terms of covering the goalkeeping department.
10:00And Will Norris will come into that thinking won't he?
10:02Yeah.
10:03What is his future Will Norris?
10:05At the moment he's doing exactly what he's doing here every day, training every day,
10:09making sure he competes in that goalkeeping department which he has done and keeping himself
10:12on top of it and you never know how quickly things change in football, we've already had
10:17that this season with changes in personnel in the goalkeeping department, we've had injuries
10:21with players coming in as well, possibly another injury now so just making sure he keeps himself
10:26at it and competes.
10:27Has there been interest in him in this window at all?
10:30No.
10:31Obviously Sorensen's gone, first time I speak to you about it, what was the thinking behind
10:35selling him after five months?
10:37I think it was more to not stop Eli from having that opportunity, I think he wasn't playing
10:41a huge amount here and we didn't want to stand in his way, we certainly didn't want to stand
10:46in his way in terms of forwarding his career.
10:48Our initial take and in terms of where we were with our transfer policy in the summer
10:54was that Colby would be out until January, he obviously came back a lot more quickly
11:00and Eli struggled for minutes recently with a combination of many, many things I think
11:05so we didn't really want to stand in his way initially, we didn't think it was anything
11:08we'd be able to get done because of the fact that Eli had already played for one club before
11:12joining us but slightly different rules with him going out to Norway and we wish him the
11:17best and I'm sure he'll have a great time out there.
11:19Obviously you see him in training every day which we don't, what was the reason you didn't
11:23use him as much?
11:24I think there's always a multitude of reasons, I think part of that is Eli was unlucky, when
11:31he played he certainly gave us everything and he certainly put a shift in, probably
11:36you never know what the sliding doors moments are if he puts the penalty in against Oxford
11:41and all of a sudden his confidence is boosted and he gets a couple more then, you never
11:44know what the difference is going to be but that didn't happen and not that it's all on
11:48that, that's just one example of where things might have changed and been a bit different
11:52but certainly with the way we've been playing recently and we've been a bit more direct,
11:56we've been going to a target man a lot more, I think that suited the likes of Colby who
12:00was a very, very different player to Eli and so there's many different things and I don't
12:04think playing style should be discounted either.
12:06Assessing his time overall at Pompey, what would you say?
12:10I mean it's always, you're never going to look at a player who's been here for six months
12:15and not played a huge amount of games and said it's a boring success but Eli was a great
12:18kid, he kept his head down in training, he scored a really important goal for us up at
12:21Leeds and had a really big contribution, you never know at the back end of the season what
12:27that contribution is going to amount to and what the goal or what the other bits of effort
12:32that he put in during the season are going to give us.
12:34And was he keen to go for regular minutes as well?
12:36Yeah, I mean that was no surprise because of the amount of minutes that he'd had, he
12:40wasn't itching for a move by any means, he was looking to compete and stay here but when
12:44the opportunity came up we didn't want to stand in his way.
12:47Obviously the transfer window moves very quickly, a few weeks ago you said you weren't after
12:50any strikers, has that changed now with Sorensen going?
12:53No, it hasn't changed, it hasn't changed, we're still in a position where we're comfortable
12:59with where we are in terms of the centre forward so yeah, as it is with Colby, Christian, we've
13:05got Cass and Mark returning from injury as well, Mark quicker than Cassini, we're comfortable
13:10with where we're at.
13:11Is that because you've got the ability to make an impact in the Championship there in
13:14that pool of strikers?
13:16I think so, yeah, I mean before Cassini got injured he started three games on the spin,
13:20unfortunately got injured out in international duty so that was frustrating for us, Colby's
13:25come in I think and started pretty much every game since then, we've got Christian who's
13:29had a really good impact in the Championship this season, he's got a couple of goals, he's
13:35played in a lot of the games and then yeah, Mark before he got injured probably had that
13:39sort of typical real injection and boost when he first came into the side that you'd expect
13:45from someone coming from an academy system, injured Swansea so I suspect by the time he
13:52comes back he'll be raring to go and he'll be at it and I think we're well stocked there.
13:55Because there was a stat before your last league game that of the bottom 13, you were
14:00one of the highest scorers, so there are goals there aren't there?
14:03Yeah and I don't think scoring goals has been our issue this year, there are some games
14:06where we haven't looked quite as sharp as we'd like to at the top end of the pitch but
14:10we have scored plenty of goals overall, home and away from home, if you look at some of
14:14the places we've gone and we've scored goals, yeah that's not necessarily been our issue,
14:18I think the bigger problem that we've had is making sure that we've been tight at the
14:22back and we've conceded too many goals, particularly away from home so yeah we really need to tighten
14:27up there but certainly from the attackers in terms of their goal contribution we've
14:31been pretty pleased.
14:32Speaking of strikers, Christian Salih today has been linked with a move away from Threatened
14:36Park, is there anything in that?
14:37No, Christian won't be going anywhere.
14:39Is that because he's such an important player here would you say?
14:42Yeah I think he makes an impact when he comes on, I think Christian will be frustrated not
14:46to get more starts but he has started quite a few games for us, we're working hard to
14:52find him the position that he's best at as well which I think is as a 10 mostly and he
14:56didn't play the other night but there's plenty of things that Christian can improve upon
15:00but I think when he does come on like he did against Sunderland he can make a real
15:02impact.
15:03Especially in the season, he made the step up quite well to the Championship.
15:07Yeah and I think that was credit to Christian, particularly if you look up at Middlesbrough
15:12where he scored a couple of goals, led the line really well, certainly had a big impact
15:18and he always has, he always has since he's been here at the Football Club and I know
15:21Christian always wants to start more games and we always want to press him to his and
15:25certainly happy with the impact he's making.
15:26Can you see an improvement in him as the season has gone on as well?
15:29I can yeah, I can and I think that last year was something that was good to go by where
15:34Christian got better and better as the season went on, probably had a really positive impact
15:38at the start of the season, tailed off slightly and then came back at the back end of the
15:40season really well and scored some or scored at least one really important goal for us.
15:44Well there's a couple actually, he scored at Oxford, he scored at Wycombe so I'm really
15:47pleased for Christian coming in and actually cementing his place in the side.
15:51He's got to really try and work hard to do that again, he's got a lot of competition
15:55in there particularly as Callum's probably playing in his position at the minute who
15:58is one of the top scorers in the league but yeah, Christian I think there's plenty of
16:02improvement there.