Portsmouth v Blackburn Rovers: John Mousinho's pre-match press conference

The News, Portsmouth

Pompey boss John Mousinho talks to The News ahead of Saturday's Championship fixture against Blackburn Rovers at Fratton Park

Transcript

00:00John, obviously the last time we saw you was after Preston, arguably the most angriest

00:05I've seen you after a game. You've had the players in since then for two weeks, have

00:09you got your message across to them?

00:11Yeah, we took them through the Preston post-match when everybody came back in the building last

00:15week and the message was really clear, I thought we'd done really well to get back into the

00:20game, I thought we'd done excellently for 85 of the 90 minutes and then when we equalised

00:27I thought we'd just done some really, really strange things so it was better for me I think

00:32last week when we had the benefit of the video and a bit of time to show the lads exactly

00:37what I think we expect of them and we've worked on a few of those bits this week so slightly

00:42less emotional, I think that's the benefit you get when you give it a couple of days

00:46but the message was still there, I felt the same way, the message was still the same to

00:51the players, it was probably just with a bit more detail and a bit more clarity.

00:53Do you think the message has now sunk in?

00:56I hope so, we'll see it at the weekend I think and there's always going to be times

01:01when the opposition has the ball, has chances, sometimes scores goals, that's fine, it's

01:04just making sure that we concede things in the right way and we don't concede things

01:08that we know we shouldn't do.

01:10Is that time away from the match situation, has that given you more time to analyse this

01:16and sort it out do you feel?

01:19Not really, it was really clear to me in the moment, we watched it straight away after

01:23on the bus as well, I didn't think there was anything that we didn't already know,

01:28so it was pretty clear, it was pretty clear what we needed to do differently and mistakes

01:33that I thought players made, maybe mistakes we made as coaching staff as well.

01:37So yeah, it just gives you the clarity, it gives you the time, we just have a bit more

01:42time to dwell on it I think after the Preston game because there's an international break

01:46usually you've just got one day or a couple of days and you've got to move on quickly

01:49but yeah we just had a bit more time.

01:52What have you told them?

01:54We've just talked through the detail of what we need to do better and my message firmly

01:58to the players is that at this stage of the season, rewind slightly, it felt at times

02:04like when we were dominating the game in the first half against Preston that we still didn't

02:08have that belief and that cutting edge and that killer instinct to go and put sides away

02:12and we allowed them to get to half-time, make those four changes and change the course of

02:17the game.

02:18We're still a bit tentative and a bit hesitant in certain moments and I just want the lads

02:21to realise that we've played obviously every side in the league, we've played most of

02:25the sides twice.

02:27My question to the players was do you think you're out of place at this level?

02:29I don't think we're out of place at all, I think the players can compete, I think we

02:33can certainly put up a decent enough fight even against the top boys so when we're playing

02:39sides that I think we need to at least come away with a point or sometimes beat, I just

02:43want us to have a bit more belief and a bit more quality in those small moments, it's

02:47detail in those small moments that at some stages this season has had us unstuck and

02:52we've had some away games where we've been blown away and that is what it is, you can

02:57almost live with those games because you're just not in the game and sides are better

03:00than you but there's been too many times this year where it's been close and we've just

03:04slipped up or we've switched off for a second or we haven't done the right thing late in

03:09the game and that's what we really need to get better at.

03:12Was that the anger you've been after a game?

03:16It feels to me like Preston certainly against a really well organised, established championship

03:21side that we competed really well away from home, like I said we forced them into the

03:24floor changes at half time and even then I thought in the second half of the game was

03:28fairly even, yeah Preston scored but we worked so hard to get back in the game and equalise,

03:34to throw it away in the manner that we did, that was the most frustrating thing for me

03:37to do what we did after that and it wasn't just the goal, there were a couple of warning

03:41signs before that, Preston should have scored twice once we'd equalised and for us to not

03:45have the ability to deal with that and I think the awareness on the pitch that okay

03:50in those moments we do need to be a bit more solid, we do need to recognise that we've

03:55maybe nearly conceded twice and just see the game out, those are the things we need to

03:58progress at and I think we've got an experienced enough squad, a good enough squad to be able

04:00to do that and I think we all need to step up.

04:03How is Kassini Yangi?

04:04Kass is okay, he's picked up a minor hamstring injury whilst he's been away with Australia

04:08so I think it was the day after they played their first game, he trained, very, very minor

04:13strain, he flew straight back over here, I don't think it's going to keep him out for

04:16more than 10 days.

04:17So 10 days is that what you're looking at?

04:20Yeah, about that.

04:21Frustrating again isn't it for him and for you guys?

04:24Yeah, of course Kass had just got himself back to fitness, started again so one of those,

04:28I mean it could have been worse, last time he went away on international duty he picked

04:31up that big injury and yeah, it's not too bad.

04:36So this is unconnected to previous injuries he's had then?

04:38No, this is a hamstring injury, no connection.

04:40Are you concerned about his injuries this season, his lack of game time this season

04:44because of that?

04:45I think whenever players get injured, individually and we obviously look at the collective state

04:51of play, we always try and figure out how we can get players available for the most

04:56amount of minutes possible and I'm sure that Kass would have liked to have been available

04:58a bit more this season, some of them are just bad luck, I think this one's minor so it's

05:02not a huge concern but yeah, we certainly want players to be available for as many minutes

05:06as possible.

05:07Do you have a bit of sympathy for him as well, the fact that he's had all these injuries

05:11and he can't play?

05:12Yeah, yeah, absolutely, players want to play, I know it's difficult, no player gets injured

05:15deliberately so it's always a tough spot to be in.

05:18How frustrated have you been not being able to pick him as well?

05:20Yeah, it's one of those, I mean don't get too frustrated with these things because they

05:24are what they are, we can sit there and just get frustrated about injuries if we did that

05:28and spend 100% of the time being frustrated because of the amount of injuries we have

05:32so that's one of those things, we've just got to deal with it and move on and make sure

05:35that the players that are coming in underneath Cassini or the other players that are available

05:41step up to the mark.

05:42Obviously, he's out of contract in the summer, what does he need to do from now to the end

05:46of the season?

05:47To be honest, that's nothing that we're really thinking about at the moment, in terms of

05:52that, any individual contract talks, it's so far away from my personal radar, it might

05:58be on the club's radar but it's so far away from what I'm thinking about, I'm focused

06:02on the next eight games and I'm very, very focused on Blackburn so I don't think about

06:06players' performances in line with contracts and trying to earn new contracts, I just think

06:10about players' performances in isolation and what they need to do to get into the side

06:14and what they need to do to affect the team.

06:16Okay, what do you want from him?

06:18Well, at the minute there's no point really having the conversation because he's out injured

06:22but certainly I think Cass has got a huge amount of ability, a huge amount of physical

06:27ability and probably just to get a consistent run of games is the first port of call, that

06:33is the first port of call if Cassini doesn't have it this season.

06:36Because it's been, I say the word frustrated, but it's been such a shame for him this season

06:41because a lot was expected and for various reasons, it just hasn't happened has it so

06:45far?

06:46Yeah, that's it, the injury at the start of the season, when he got himself fit he started

06:49three games that led into the international break, which I thought were three big games

06:52for us, Hull, Plymouth and Preston.

06:54Injured in that international break and when he's had the opportunity to come back in the

06:58side he's picked up that injury again, so that would be it, just a consistent run of

07:01games is the starting spot.

07:03You previously said you have seen glimpses of him though at this level?

07:06Yeah, that's why we started him in those games and that's why we started him at the weekend

07:09against Preston because we thought he would be good enough to affect the level otherwise

07:13we wouldn't have borrowed him.

07:14In terms of other injuries, any updates there?

07:18We've had, Jordan Williams has trained this week, he'll be available for the weekend.

07:22Christian, we expect to be available for the weekend as well.

07:25We have the rest of the injuries, actually all of the injuries apart from Hayden, Matthews

07:30and Paddy.

07:31All out on Conor, shock to see he's coming up, it was just six weeks yesterday in terms

07:35of his injury, so hopefully just a couple of weeks left on his turn.

07:38He's been fairly positive, there's always something around the corner but everyone progressing

07:43nicely.

07:44So with Conor, he's out on the grass, at what stage do you expect him to step up from that?

07:49We're still in that stage where he just needs to tick a few boxes out on the grass and then

07:54within the next couple of weeks we hope to have him back training.

07:57So obviously you're looking at April there really, and Atkinson as well?

08:01Yeah, Rob as well.

08:02Rob's not quite as advanced as Shox in terms of being down the line with his injury effort

08:06so I think Rob is coming up for five weeks at the weekend, so Conor is six weeks into

08:11a six to eight weeker and Rob is five weeks into a six to eight weeker.

08:15So you expect them both to play before the end of the season?

08:17I think they'll both be back before the end of the year, yeah.

08:19And Milosevic as well, how's he getting on?

08:21Alex has had another couple of weeks fully training with us which has been really beneficial

08:25for us so he'll be available for the weekend.

08:27Is he in contention at all for this weekend then?

08:29Yeah, he is, he just needed that extra time.

08:32You've obviously been patient and given him time to adapt and adjust, can you see that

08:36in the training pitch as well?

08:38Yeah, it's taking its time if you don't play any games since November and it's obviously

08:43his off-season, a different season where he was playing in terms of the time scale

08:48so he hadn't played through the winter and as much as you can do work in the gym and

08:53he trained with a couple of sides out in Sweden as well, it's just not quite the same as the

08:57intensity of training with the side that are 80% of the way done in their season.

09:01So I think it's really helped over the last couple of weeks to have him.

09:04And what have you seen from him in the training?

09:06Yeah, I think first of all we've just been focusing on the fitness side of it and then

09:10everything that we expected, a nice, calm, composed centre-half with plenty of aggression

09:13as well so I'm looking forward to seeing him.

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