Portsmouth

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Portsmouth are planning talks with out-of-contract players next week.

Boss John Mousinho says he will not tell players of any decisions about their futures until after Saturday's final Championship game of the season at home to Hull City (12:30 BST).

"We've had a couple of meetings this week with players who are in contract but we didn't want to distract any of the out-of-contract players because it's unfair before the weekend," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"Any conversations we've had this week have been very straightforward and any of the ones which take more care and diligence we'll do on Monday."

Defenders Zak Swanson and Cohen Bramall are two of the first-team players whose deals are due to expire at the end of the season, although Pompey do retain an option to extend Swanson's contract.

Mousinho admits they have not made final decisions on everyone's future.

"We're still mulling over a few things and we have a couple of meetings on Friday with the board where we want to check things first before we make any decisions," he added.

"The conversations where you're letting players go aren't great but there's a lot of reward when you give a new contract but ultimately they're not nice conversations a lot of the time because you're talking about people's livelihoods so you have to tread carefully."

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Harvey Blair's first season with Portsmouth has been like "a rollercoaster" according to the former Liverpool winger.

The 21-year-old made the switch from Merseyside to the South Coast last summer but has found first-team appearances hard to come by before scoring his first Pompey goal in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday.

"I just wanted to go out and have fun really and the goal came with it," Blair told BBC Radio Solent.

"Josh Murphy said to me before the game 'every time I get the ball just get in the box' so I knew that and luckily it was a nice little tap-in."

Blair had to wait until October's trip to Stoke for his first start in a Portsmouth shirt and that ended in a 6-1 hammering.

Since then he has only featured a further five times with the draw at Hillsborough his second appearance in the starting line-up.

"It's been a rollercoaster season for me but I just need to keep my head down, keep working hard and make sure next season I'm firing on all cylinders," he added

"All the lads have been unbelievable since the day I came in, welcomed me with open arms and I couldn't ask for any more."

Portsmouth safeguarded their Championship status with a win over Watford on Easter Monday and finish their campaign at home to relegation-threatened Hull City on Saturday (12:30 BST)

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent Portsmouth commentator

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There was very much an end-of-term feel at a muted Hillsborough. I suspect both sides will be happy enough with a 1-1 draw.

It was a big day for Harvey Blair, his first start since the 6-1 humiliation at Stoke earlier in the season. He underlined his potential with his first senior goal but remains a work in progress.

Goalkeeper Ben Killip hasn't even been on the bench since arriving in January and was a surprise starter. He had no chance with Wednesday's goal and put in a very tidy performance.

All in all, a decent point on the road. Next week's finale is highly unlikely to feel flat.

Pompey face relegation-threatened Hull, who are managed by former Southampton boss Ruben Selles. Ex-Pompey loanee Abu Kamara is also likely to feature.

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Portsmouth manager John Mousinho has said he is "delighted" with a point after his side drew at Sheffield Wednesday.

Pompey responded to Callum Paterson's opener in the ninth minute through Harvey Blair's tap-in on the 23rd minute mark to collect their 11th draw after 45 games.

"It's a good point. I think it's a very difficult place to come after the elation of last week and the emotion as well," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent after the match.

"I thought the performance in the first half was really pleasing. Second-half we sat in a bit deep, we struggled to deal with their good play.

"Ultimately, I look out onto the pitch and I think they've got some very good players at this level, we all know what Barry Bannan can produce on his day and he caused some problems so I'm delighted with the result in the end."

This is a unique game in the Championship on Saturday (15:00 BST) as both sides know they will definitely be in this division next season.

The Owls' play-off challenge has subsided while Portsmouth guaranteed their safety with a win over Watford on Easter Monday.

• Sheffield Wednesday are unbeaten in their past six league games against Portsmouth (W4 D2), having been winless in six against them before this current run (D2 L4).

• Portsmouth have lost just one of their past five away league games against Sheffield Wednesday (W2 D2), going down 4-1 at Hillsborough in April 2022.

• Sheffield Wednesday's 2-1 win over Middlesbrough last time out ended their five-game losing run at home. They last won consecutive matches at Hillsborough in January against Stoke City and Derby County.

• Portsmouth have lost 11 of their past 13 away league games, though did beat Norwich 5-3 in their last match. They last won consecutive second-tier games on the road in February 2011.

• Sheffield Wednesday have won a league-high 24 points from losing positions in the Championship this season.

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho says the club could have changed managers during the season after some poor away defeats, but chose to stick with the 38-year-old, who signed an extension on his long-term contract in September.

The side have not been comfortable on the road this season, winning just three games compared with 15 losses.

Some of their heaviest defeats include a 4-0 defeat at Derby County in December, and a 6-1 humbling at Stoke City in October.

Both Derby and Stoke are beneath Pompey in the Championship table and in threat of relegation.

"Let's not beat around the bush - there were times this season where they could have looked at some of those heavy away defeats and thought, well, maybe that's the time to change," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

However, the club's loyalty appears to have been the right call.

The Englishman guided Portsmouth to securing a second season in the Championship on Monday when Colby Bishop scored the winner in their 1-0 victory over Watford, as well as earning the adoration of the fans.

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent Portsmouth commentator

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After Portsmouth's win over Blackburn a few weeks ago, I had a quick word with one of the coaching staff. I offered my congratulations and pointed out safety was now potentially just a couple of wins away.

The response was, "I might be able to sleep at night then." I don't think they were joking. This is the pressure of a relegation battle.

It's worth reflecting on what Portsmouth have achieved. Survival with two matches to go in a first season back in the Championship with one of the division's lowest budgets is, in itself, a great achievement.

But throw in all the injuries and misfortune, and it is worth considering how it compares to winning League One last season. It's certainly not far off.

This was a side that were six points adrift of safety after 15 matches with just one win to their name. They looked short of goals and leaky at the back. A bad combination.

Portsmouth have had to be a play-off-calibre team since then just to survive.

Colby Bishop's earlier than expected return from heart surgery has obviously been key, but so has John Mousinho's decision to alter the playing style. That takes courage.

He spent the whole of pre-season working with the players, implementing one style. Pompey had dominated possession in League One last season.

But the decision to be more direct with the ball and press aggressively out of possession at times has paid dividends. The football hasn't always been easy on the eye, especially at Fratton Park, but it's been effective.

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Form at Fratton Park has been key. Since early November only Leeds United can better Pompey's 11 home wins.

Incredibly, in that period the Blues have never squandered a lead at home, going on to win every match that they went ahead in.

Teams might have underestimated Pompey at home at the back end of 2024, but no one will have done so this calendar year. Yet they kept churning out the results.

The results may not have improved significantly away from home, but the performances did. Pompey haven't lost a game by more than one goal since a weakened 11 were well beaten at West Brom in January. This after numerous games in the first half of the season did or could have ended in a hammering.

Recruitment has also been key despite few mistakes. Josh Murphy is a strong contender for player of the season. Matt Ritchie and Andre Dozzell were very useful late-summer free agent additions. Nicolas Schmidt looks like a Championship-level goalkeeper. West Ham will be extremely pleased at Freddie Potts development.

In January, Pompey needed players who could make an immediate impact. Despite the calf injury, Rob Atkinson was a brilliant addition. Cohen Bramall, Isaac Hayden and Adil Aouchiche have all made contributions.

Injuries have been a huge problem, but they affect all clubs. Portsmouth may struggle again next season if they can't get their key players on the pitch on a more regular basis. There is no magic fix, though.

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What now for John Mousinho? We know other clubs have taken note of how good a job he's done. It is not out of the question that someone makes him an offer he cannot refuse.

But he knows he's loved at Fratton Park. The owners would have stuck with him even if the club had been relegated. The fans never turned on him, despite some dismal away performances.

Taking Portsmouth to the Premier League in football's current climate would require a once-in-a-generation season where everything went perfectly.

That might be realistically out of reach for now, but there's still scope for the club to move forward next season. Mousinho won't feel he's taken Portsmouth as far as he can just yet.

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Portsmouth boss John Mousinho has said they will "add to the budget" next season and there will be more "money available" for them to spend on the playing squad.

With safety confirmed in the Championship for another season having worked with one of the smallest budgets in the division, Mousinho has already shared his desire for the club to establish themselves in the second tier.

"There's some exciting plans in place in terms of moving forward in the Championship," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"We're not going to be anywhere near the biggest spenders in the league but we're going to add to the budget and there will be more money available which will be great.

"We have to be ambitious and build, just staying in the Championship has given us half a chance of doing that, my overall feeling is one of excited as to where we can go as a club."

Despite the encouraging season and immense progress shown, Mousinho still wants to manage expectations and says the long-term plan is not one to be rushed.

"There is no massive rush next year to all of a sudden become a side challenging at the top end of the league," he added.

"That point will definitely come but for now we need to have the foundations in first and go from there, the strategy here is long term and we will build on that and continue next year."

Portsmouth can now start planning for a second season in the Championship after securing their second-tier status on Monday.

The Who Needs Mourinho? team of Chris Wise, Andy Moon and Guy Whittingham discuss the two wins over the Easter weekend, survival and looking to the future.

"To win any league is difficult and is a massive achievement, but so is staying in the Championship with the budget they've got and the injuries they've had," said former Portsmouth forward Whittingham.

You can listen to all episodes of the Who Needs Mourinho? podcast on BBC Sounds.

Tom Chappell
Fan writer from fournilwrittenalloverit

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Yesterday John Mousinho cemented himself as my favourite Pompey manager in living memory.

His back-to-back triumphs of promotion from League One with a handful of games to spare, twinned with surviving this season, with some of the biggest challenges imaginable thrown at him, are two truly remarkable accomplishments, achieved by a truly remarkable man.

I would argue that survival in the Championship for Pompey is just as big, if not perhaps a bigger achievement, than the title-winning success last season.

To back that up, I'd point to the luckless injury run which has seemingly plagued the campaign, some of the run of games and fixture list (or lack thereof given postponements!) and a number of officiating calls to our detriment as some of the salient undertones to a turbulent first season in the second tier in over a decade.

It feels fitting that Colby Bishop was ultimately the man to provide the goal that retained Pompey's divisional status for at least another season - a player whose contributions since his timely return in November have played a critical role in the survival effort.

During the second half against Watford the pressure of what was at stake wore on our faces - the longer the lead remained at a slender 1-0, despite multiple Pompey opportunities, the more pressure seemed to mount.

Watford demonstrated a real elegance on the ball and looked capable of hurting Pompey at any given moment - yet it was only really a world-class tip onto the crossbar from Nicolas Schmid that properly moved him all afternoon.

The 10 minutes of stoppage time seemed never ending before Sam Allison blew the all-important full-time whistle.

Pompey now have two games to bask in their glory, full in the knowledge that they will be competing at this level for at least another season.

Post-match comments from both Mousinho and Regan Poole regarding "finishing strong" will chime well with supporters - there's a very plausible argument to be made that when all is said and done, Pompey's ultimate final league position could look incredibly comfortable.

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent's Portsmouth commentator

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Portsmouth have done it and to achieve survival with two matches remaining is a fine achievement.

Once again they made it hard for themselves though. They've won 5 of their past 7 home matches but all by just a single goal.

They were the better side in the first half but lost momentum after taking the lead and then squandered a number of decent chances to make the game safe.

John Mousinho felt his side were worse against 10 men. Somehow they managed to keep the ball in the corner flag for most of second half stoppage time.

Planning for next season will already have begun but for now everyone connected with the club should celebrate mission accomplished.

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Portsmouth boss John Mousinho said that the club now "need to establish" themselves as Championship side having confirmed safety.

The Blues beat Watford at Fratton Park to open up a six point gap to the league's bottom three with two games to go.

Hull City and Derby below them still have to play each other which confirmed Portsmouth as officially safe.

"I thought we played so well in the first half and didn't manage to put it to bed in the second." Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"I think the boys had nerves with the severity of the occasion and how important it was to pick up the three points.

"It's a brilliant achievement but it's the next building block for where we need to go as a football club, we need to establish ourselves here now, we will go again and improve from where we have been this season.

"Survival hasn't quite sunk in for me yet because of the emotion of the game, I will definitely have a beer tonight though!"

Tom Chappell
Fan writter from Fournilwrittenalloverit

Image source, Getty Images

My feeling is very much that yesterday's win at Norwich City will be noted down as 'the moment' that clinched Portsmouth's goal of survival this season.

Just like Kusini Yengi's late winner at Peterborough United in the previous title-winning campaign - whilst not beyond numerical certainty at the time - is fondly reflected on as when we knew we'd done it.

Pompey are very much the talk of the Championship at the start of this extended footballing weekend.

Colby Bishop's first professional career hat-trick, Josh Murphy breaking Opta records for assists in a single season, and Regan Poole became a second-tier goalscorer. It was quite the afternoon.

The completely bonkers affair usurped a Pompey convention on the road - we've been in games, but repeatedly have been undone by a single goal of late. My mind takes me to Sheffield United, Preston North End, Millwall and Coventry City.

Whilst there are similarities to draw in terms of the frenetic nature of some of these away games - none of them have seen us exert such goal-scoring prowess as we did in East Anglia yesterday afternoon.

I felt particularly at the break [1-3 for those keeping count], that we'd had almost everything you could ask for from a Pompey performance on the road. Score early, yes, get pegged back, but show the character and the guile to look beyond that and continue to play our game.

How many times has conceding away from home completely killed any level of performance or momentum in a game for us this season? It didn't happen yesterday.

Freddie Potts had a wonderful afternoon - considering Norwich's reluctance to tackle it made his display an absolute joy to watch. Some of the football he orchestrated from the middle of the park was sublime.

It was also Adil Aouchiche's best performance in a Pompey shirt. He's shown a real tenacity and desire since arriving in January, so it's great to see that translate into tangible returns in terms of assists.

Murphy needs little discussion or description - it's almost as if sometimes when he's running at pace with the ball, his feet don't actually look like they're touching the ground.

Of all English players across the Premier League and Championship, only Cole Palmer (22) has more goal involvements than Pompey's magic man (20) on the left wing.

Speaking of magic men - a last word on Bishop.

Missing a penalty in a massive moment not six days before, the call comes for him to take another one is an almost obscene mental battle - yet as he stood over the spot-kick facing the River End, I had absolutely no doubt that he was going to bury it. And bury it he did.

Having been out for three months of the season following heart surgery, to score 10 Championship goals since November, including a hat-trick yesterday to put Pompey six points clear of the drop zone with three games to play - there's very little that will top that as a story this season.

I've been in every single Pompey away end this season, and it may well come as no surprise to you to say it was the loudest I have heard us on our travels.

The full-time air was full of a genuine optimism for just short of 2,000 travelling fans that Pompey will retain their Championship status for at least another year.

Fingers crossed it won't be long before that all-important numerical certainty.

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Portsmouth manager John Mousinho says the 5-3 win over Norwich was "stressful" but hopes his side take belief from it.

Colby Bishop's hat-trick and goals from Matt Ritchie and Regan Poole lifted Pompey six points above the relegation zone.

But Mousinho said he wasn't confident in the result even at the late stages of the game.

"It hasn't quite sunk in yet. It was quite a stressful 90 minutes for me," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"Even at 5-2 up with eight minutes to go, I still didn't feel secure, probably because of the position we are in. I am delighted and once it sinks in, I'll be more pleased, but we've got to go again tomorrow and make sure we are focussed again for Monday."

Mousinho wants his side to believe they can win more away games after just a second in 17 this season.

"We spoke before the about putting it all together. We've done it in patches in games but not consistent enough. We do deserve to be in the Championship and we've mixed it with every team here.

"The next stage is making sure we do it more often."

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent Portsmouth commentator

Image source, Getty Images

Wow. Portsmouth are almost over the line and they did it in some style.

They've been better defensively on the road this season but going forwards they were outstanding, taking full advantage of some generous Norwich defending.

A perfect hat-trick for Colby Bishop takes him to 10 league goals for the season, some achievement given that he didn't play until November due to heart surgery.

John Mousinho didn't find it comfortable, describing it as a "stressful watch" which summed up his side at the back.

Realistically, 49 points might be enough to stay up but another win on Monday should seal the deal.

With Norwich already looking ahead to next season, according to midfielder Anis Ben Slimane, Portsmouth might fancy their chances of taking advantage of side with little to play for over the next four games as Pompey try to seal their place in the Championship for next term.

Four points clear of trouble, maybe one more win will do it - that's certainly the view of BBC Radio Solent's Andrew Moon on the latest edition of the Who Needs Mourinho? podcast.

Here are the stats ahead of their Good Friday game (15:00 BST).

• Norwich City have won only three of their past 12 Football League games against Portsmouth (D5 L4), though are unbeaten in their last two meetings (W1 D1).

• After beating Norwich 2-0 in December 2010, Portsmouth could win successive away league games against the Canaries for the first time since September 1968.

• Norwich are unbeaten in their past four league games on Good Friday (W2 D2), winning each of their last two against Blackburn in 2023 (2-0) and Plymouth in 2024 (2-1).

• Portsmouth are unbeaten in their past nine league games on Good Friday (W5 D4), though did lose their last such game in the second tier 3-0 at Ipswich in 2003.

• Norwich's Josh Sargent (10 goals) and Portsmouth's Josh Murphy (10 – three goals, seven assists), are two of the four players to have 10+ goal involvements in the Championship in 2025.