John Mousinho: How much should Portsmouth fans take from manager of the month award?
- Published
Portsmouth boss John Mousinho (third from left) is quick to credit his staff for contributing to their success on the field so far this season
I'm not sure there's any data to back up the manager of the month award being "cursed", although fans will always mention it.
It may of course just be a regression to the mean after a good winning run. Amazingly Kenny Jackett didn't win it in four years of being in promotion contention.
There's no doubt though that John Mousinho fully deserves the award for September. His side went into the month unbeaten but with some question marks - they finished it top of League One and looking like strong automatic promotion candidates.
Mousinho was right to point out that the award is down to the efforts of the entire first-team squad and staff, and those aren't empty platitudes (although he obviously deserves plenty of credit). With so much pressure on the job it's easy to become a control freak as a head coach. Mousinho is clearly not one, he's very happy to delegate to his coaching staff.
Assistant Jon Harley and first-team coach Zesh Rehman often do one-on-one work with individual players, and set-pieces are largely left to goalkeeping coach Joe Prodomo. It's a team of coaches who have come together well, having not previously worked together. The mood at a training ground is always likely to be dictated by results, but having a relaxed environment can't hurt.
Do keyboard warriors have egg on their faces?
No-one predicted that former Oxford United player John Mousinho would become Portsmouth's new head coach in January 2023
It's hard to believe it was only this year that Portsmouth were beaten so badly at Bolton that more pessimistic fans were more concerned about dropping to League Two than a return to the Championship.
The decision to appoint Mousinho was a courageous one from chief executive Andy Cullen and sporting director Richard Hughes. Every now and again someone will recirculate my post on social media when it emerged he was likely to get the job. The comments weren't kind. The reaction from contacts I spoke to within football was mixed.
But now many of those fans who were unimpressed at the time are happy to point out how wrong they were - and wouldn't social media be a better place if everyone was happy to make a joke at getting things wrong?
Comparing trophies won in autumn and spring
Mousinho comes across as a relaxed leader. He seems popular with the players. One thing that's always struck me is how balanced he's able to stay after results. Lots of managers like to talk about not getting too high after wins or too low after losses. Some, including a few Portsmouth bosses, failed spectacularly at doing so.
Perhaps his unusual route through the game, starting as a player at the University of Notre Dame in the USA before working his way up to the Championship, has helped his perspective.
What is most impressive is how quickly he's been able to adapt. He only had an idea that he might get the job a few days before it was announced. His main knowledge of the Pompey squad came from playing against them.
Mousinho says it'll be down to his wife where the manager of the month award is displayed at home. I suspect when she sees the trophy it'll end up in the downstairs bathroom or spare room at best. One previous Pompey manager accidentally damaged the trophy, and when he asked for a replacement was told it wasn't possible!
Trophies won in October won't live long in the memory. It's the silverware on offer next April that would warrant pride of place in Mousinho's home and Portsmouth fans' hearts.
You can hear every Pompey match live on BBC Radio Solent with Andy Moon and former Blues striker and manager Guy Whittingham.
