Mousinho Welcomes Extra Time to Address Derby Loss

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho expressed his expectation that the additional preparation time for the upcoming Championship fixture against Coventry City at home this Saturday will prove advantageous for his team. Last week, Pompey competed in three matches within a six-day period, concluding with a significant 4-0 loss to Derby County on Friday. However, the team has since benefited from a complete training week to analyze the issues from the game at Pride Park. This substantial defeat concluded a four-game unbeaten streak that had generated renewed optimism at Fratton Park, but Mousinho stated he is not overreacting to the outcome. “After a defeat you are always looking to play a game as quickly as possible but there are benefits in having some time off and time on the training pitch as well,” Mousinho stated to BBC Radio Solent. He further commented, “Maybe one of the things that undid us at the end of last week was we didn’t have any time on the training ground – we didn’t have a lot of time to prep for the Derby game and that’s something we have to address and be better at.” Mousinho added, “We don’t want to brush anything under the carpet but some of the issues on Friday have not been part of our game over the last six weeks – it was a bit of a surprise. We do have to address it but don’t have to do anything drastic.” Presently, Pompey occupies the third-to-last position in the league standings, trailing safety by a single point.