Portsmouth boss John Mousinho's press conference ahead of Leeds United cash

The News, Portsmouth

John Mousinho previews Pompey encounter with Leeds

Transcript

00:00John, obviously, the Champions League season started at Leeds a long time ago. What do

00:06you remember about that fantastic match?

00:08Yeah, it was a brilliant game of football, I think, for the neutral. I remember the entire

00:14football club probably being blown away in the first 10 minutes by the quality on display

00:18and we started the game really poorly as well. So, I remember the best thing, a feeling at

00:22the time, the best thing that could have happened to us was conceding that goal because we calmed

00:25down and we settled into the game after that. I got back into the game, went in at half-time

00:292-1 up and I thought that's at least instilled a bit of belief in the boys because they realised

00:34that the level is good. Leeds are a very, very good side but not completely unbeatable.

00:39And yeah, we conceded at a really poor time just after half-time, managed to hang on in

00:44there and it was mixed emotions at the end of the game because we should have won the

00:47game going into extra time or going into injury time 3-2 up. We definitely should have won

00:52the game but at the same time, we then could have lost it because Leeds had a really good

00:55chance at 3-3 as well. And then on the balance of the game overall, we definitely got away

00:59with one but it was an interesting introduction to the Championship.

01:03Do you look back and think how handy those extra two points would have been at this time

01:06of the season?

01:07Yeah, definitely. We've had a couple of those. We've had that at Leeds, we've had that at

01:11Middlesbrough and we had that to a certain extent at Burnley and that's what happens.

01:17Those points are always ones we think that would have been really useful. I just don't

01:20think on the day, especially against Leeds and Middlesbrough, we deserve to actually

01:24take all three points. So, we can absolutely live with that. I think there have been other

01:27games that have been a bit more frustrating where we did deserve to take more points.

01:30So, yeah, those games, I don't particularly really miss chances there.

01:34Obviously, you face Leeds now, who are top of the league. What do you make about them

01:37as a team?

01:39They're the best team in the league. I think everybody's in agreement there and they've

01:42had a fantastic season. I think particularly bouncing back from the disappointment of the

01:47play-offs final defeat last year and losing a couple of their key players. It's been a

01:51very, very impressive season. They've gone from strength to strength and, yeah, I think

01:55they've only lost three games all year. So, a really, really good side, full of good players,

01:58a very, very good system and well-coached and that obviously makes for a potent combination

02:02at the top of the league.

02:04So, how do you handle the best team in the league in Troughton Park?

02:06I think we have to try and unsettle them as much as possible. I think that's the most

02:09important thing and as good as Leeds have been, we have to try and find some of the

02:14weaknesses. They haven't got many, but they've definitely got some and what we have to do

02:18is try and make it as difficult for them as possible to get into their game when they're

02:21coming and playing away from home. We have done that with some success this season with

02:26some of the big sides at the level and we've got to do the same. We've got to do the same

02:29on Sunday and I think that's something we've been pretty good at. We've got to do that

02:34in possession and out of possession and, yeah, just do as best as possible to try and get

02:38something out of the game.

02:39You've not got many choices at centre-half at the moment. Obviously, Regan does play

02:43when he's fit. You then have to choose between Marlon and Riley Towler. What's the process

02:48of deciding between the pair of them? Which one starts?

02:52Yeah, we do it with every position. There's no set process. Sometimes it's on a bit of

02:59a feel in terms of what you think can be best for the game. So we look at training, we look

03:03at the contribution the players have had to previous games. Yeah, sometimes we just think

03:08certain games are going to suit certain players and that's the way that we do that. So when

03:11we are selecting at centre-half, we've obviously had the selection issues over the past few

03:19weeks with the injuries that we've had. We've brought new players into the side. We take

03:23a lot of factors into consideration and come up with what we think is the best decision.

03:29Why did Marlon start ahead of Riley on Saturday at Luton?

03:33Marlon's played plenty of football there at centre-back. We've had a lot of success with

03:36Marlon back there as well. We looked at the games that Marlon and Regan have played together.

03:41The four previous games Marlon and Regan played together were Preston, Swansea, Bristol City

03:46and Norwich. We'd actually gone unbeaten in those four. We'd won two of them. Regan then

03:50came out the side after Norwich, so we actually thought that would be a good centre-half

03:53partnership.

03:55What have you made of Riley this season? Because he started at Leeds in the first game, didn't he?

03:58Yeah, I think Riley's probably surpassed expectations this season in terms of his

04:03contribution to the team in the Championship. Riley's been a big part of it as well. You look

04:09at some of the games that Riley played, particularly around Christmas time and into

04:14January, and was a big part of the better performances against Watford, wins against

04:19Swansea, wins against Coventry. A decent enough performance up at Sunderland. I think Riley's

04:24more than contributed this season.

04:25What does Marlon give you that Riley doesn't then?

04:28Probably just a bit more experience. It's very, very different when you've played that

04:31amount of games at that age. You've got that experience held on your shoulder sometimes

04:35against some of these bigger and better sides. I think that's what Marlon gives you. It's a

04:39different profile in terms of centre-half on the ball as well. There's big differences

04:45between the two of them. Like you say, we just try and take everything in the round

04:49when we're making that selection decision.

04:51What does Riley have to do to get back into the side, would you say?

04:54He's just got to keep going, keep training hard, keep training as well as he possibly

04:57can and just be ready for the chance. He's done that really well this season. He started

05:00the season, he came out the side, he kept himself going and he got back in the side,

05:03so he's got to do that again.

05:06You guys at Luton last week, it's not all from what we've seen in the last few months

05:09really. Can you put your finger on why that was?

05:12It was a strange one, I thought, in terms of the way that we started the game and how

05:16lacklustre we were in the first half. I think there's probably a multitude of factors. It's

05:21easy, I think, to sometimes sit there as a coach and think that a bit of complacency

05:25has crept into the group. I'm not saying that was the case, but sometimes that's the way

05:28it felt in the first half, because we're a shadow of what we've been over the past

05:31few weeks. We have to be better than that. We have to make sure that we start games a

05:36lot brighter than we did. It was one of those days where not much went for us in front of

05:40goal and we should have just come away from Kenilworth Road with a point and gone, look,

05:44we haven't fired in front of goal, but we've been at it defensively. We haven't conceded

05:48anything in a stupid manner, but unfortunately we didn't.

05:52It was a terrible game overall as well, let's not forget.

05:54Yeah, it wasn't a great game of football. This is happening quite a lot up and down

05:59the country with pitches at the moment. Pitches are incredibly heavy, not a huge amount of

06:02grass. Hopefully the weather turning will improve that, but it was one of those days

06:06where I don't think the pitch helped. I don't think the state of probably both clubs and

06:11where they are in the league and the nervousness that was probably on display with a lot of

06:14the football didn't help. My only disappointment is I think we should have been the side with

06:19a bit more confidence going into it and we should have tried to get the ball down and

06:22play a bit more.

06:23In terms of injuries, any news on anyone?

06:26Nothing, no. No new injuries on the weekend.

06:28So Jordan Williams, is he most likely to return soon?

06:31Yeah, he'll be back really soon. I don't think he'll be available for any of the games

06:35next week, but he'll be available for Blackburn.

06:38That will give you a good option to get it right back. You've got a lot of choices.

06:41Yeah, a nice boost going into the last eight games of the season. As many players as we

06:44can get back, the better.

06:47And Waddingham as well is another one that had a knock. How is he?

06:49Tom should be fit for the weekend. If not, he'll be fit for Plymouth.

06:53And what's his injury?

06:54Just a little groin strain.

06:55And then you've got the longer term ones like Conor Shotlessy and Rob Atkinson as well.

07:01Yeah, Conor and Rob, they're both on course. Both of them are six to eight weeks from the

07:05time of the injury, so we're not quite there yet. So yeah, we're hopeful that at some point

07:11this season, they'll be back and I'm sure they will. It's just one of those as well

07:15with the nature of the injuries, we have to be a bit cautious.

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