Portsmouth 2-1 QPR: John Mousinho's post-match reaction

The News, Portsmouth

Pompey boss John Mousinho chats to The News following the Blues' win against QPR at Fratton Park

Transcript

00:00Jon, obviously a 2-1 win for Pompey's Day, what was your assessment of that match, please?

00:05I thought it was a really cagey first half. Both sides pressed pretty well. Neither side

00:10could really get anything going in terms of playing and there was hardly anything in the

00:15game really. A few little moments here and there, but I don't think either keeper was

00:18particularly tested. And to be honest, I thought right up until QPR's goal, from half-time

00:24to QPR's goal, I thought we were superb. I think we came out in the second half, pressed

00:28really well, created chances. Probably my only criticism, I'm going to have two criticisms

00:33I think, is not putting the ball in the back of the net for the third, or not creating

00:37more for the third when we had some opportunities. And then just being a bit cagey once that

00:41first QPR goal went in, but I think naturally that's going to happen.

00:44The way you started the second half, what did you say to them at half-time?

00:47It was just about going, OK, we've had that 45 minutes where we've both sort of seen how

00:53each other are going to press, seen how each other are going to play. If we're not going

00:57to play a huge amount of football, that's fine, but we're going to try and play a bit

01:00more in the final third. And it was just about dominating small moments. There was a moment

01:04where QPR nearly got it in the first half. I thought we lost a couple of challenges.

01:07We didn't win the second ball and that was going to be the difference between the two

01:10sides of the game. So, making sure we're on top of that and taking opportunities when they came.

01:14Josh Murphy has been sensational this season, hasn't he?

01:17Yes, I mean, today probably is his best performance amongst some very, very good performances.

01:25The most pleasing part of this performance for Murph, I think, was the fact that he scored

01:31a different way. So, I don't think he's scored that goal yet this season. He's had a few opportunities,

01:35a few real near-misses. I remember quite a few at the Norton end as well. But, yes, to score that goal

01:40and then to get the assist and to have the work rate off the left, the work rate off the right.

01:45You can see he was dead on his feet at the end, but a very, very fit lad, extremely talented

01:49and I'm very pleased to have him.

01:51There was one moment in the first half, he was covering to tackle Frey in the box.

01:55Yes, the break there, I think the break there when the ball's broken down.

02:00I think he tried to play Frey offside and Hayden's done well to delay him and Murph back 78 yards.

02:05We speak about recovery runs a fair bit and sometimes players recover and you don't notice it

02:11because it's on the opposite side of the pitch and it doesn't come to anything.

02:14But Murph has had that consistently this season.

02:17You mentioned about cutting in then. Have you been on to him to do that more this season?

02:21It's not one of those where we can take a huge amount of credit from the coaching staff

02:26because Murph's done it himself and we have just spoken to Murph back.

02:31I think full-backs and all defenders now, they're looking at the way that Murph likes to get in

02:37and thinking, OK, you take the ball down the line really, really well.

02:40We're going to have to try and protect against that to a certain extent.

02:43So, they're sometimes going to maybe show you the inside and until you score a goal like that

02:48and show you can go both ways, then it's something we've been saying we can do a lot more.

02:53He hit the bar at Sheffield United doing it, so he's just not quite had that goal.

02:57If I'm a full-back and Murph faces me out and he can go both ways, it's a very, very difficult prospect.

03:04His forms have been phenomenal since February last year, really,

03:06and he's played nearly every game for Oxford and Pompey in that time.

03:10Yes, he had a quick spell out at the start of the season, he got himself injured at Charlton.

03:16I played with Murph, I knew how good he was, but when I played with him, Murph hardly played,

03:21so he didn't play a huge amount for Oxford.

03:23I think he'd come off the back of a couple of years at Preston with a couple of injuries,

03:26moved back down south and really settled himself down and got himself into fantastic physical condition,

03:33first and foremost.

03:34Like you said, he's played a huge amount of games and we've got to keep him going,

03:37we've got to keep him at it because we can see what he can produce.

03:40In terms of injuries, there were plenty to count today.

03:43The players ran themselves into the ground today.

03:45You could see it at the final whistle, it was a real team, lion-hearted effort.

03:49Yes, it was. We look at Rob, we'll see how Rob is.

03:53I think he just felt his calf.

03:55Funny one for Rob, he probably looked at it the first time we played him three games in a week

03:59or the first time we started it back-to-back and we thought, that's the danger there,

04:02but he's got through that, so it's just one of those we'll have to monitor and see how he is,

04:05which is frustrating off the back of a three-week.

04:08Isaac, I think, is fine and we decided to make that sub at that point

04:14because we'd already made the sub in the first half, so we just wanted to freshen things up.

04:17Isaac's fine, I think Swan is OK as well, but again, a bit of fatigue in the hamstring.

04:21The other one, just to be concerned about, we don't know what it is,

04:23but Hayden, I think, has taken a nasty, sorry, not a nasty challenge, it wasn't a poor challenge,

04:27he's just caught himself in a challenge and we'll see how he is.

04:30With Hayden, what was his injury?

04:32I think it was ankle.

04:33OK, but he did a lap of appreciation, so he didn't look too bad there.

04:37Yes, but he couldn't really move at the end, so we ended up with Hayden up front

04:40and Christian dropping into a six.

04:43I think that's a good indication of where the lads are at in terms of their mentality.

04:48We ended up with a back four of Terry, Marlon, Regan and Conor.

04:51Only one of those has started the game.

04:52Christian drops into a six, Colby drops into a ten.

04:55I think they're right at it, ready and willing to go.

04:57And the squad is massively important.

04:59We've seen that time and time again this season.

05:01We've seen how much it changes, changes very, very quickly.

05:04The lads have got to keep themselves at it and that's the most important thing.

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