Portsmouth have a 'horrible habit' - Mousinho

Portsmouth sit four points above the Championship's relegation zone

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho has said his side have a "horrible habit" they need to eradicate if they are to remain a Championship side.

After going behind on Saturday at Preston, the Blues managed to snatch an equaliser but then conceded in the 87th minute to leave Deepdale empty-handed.

It has been a frustrating few days for Mousinho's side, who pulled off a huge victory over league leaders Leeds but then lost to bottom side Plymouth Argyle before defeat at Preston.

"We have this horrible habit of seemingly needing much more league table pressure (to perform)," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"It's probably a reflection of the group - if you're a good team and you want to make it at this level you have to manufacture this yourself to make sure you play with the intensity like when we have had our backs to the wall.

"I can't live with what we did on Saturday, we switched off and did things that we explicitly told the players not to do."

Portsmouth are 17th and have four sides between themselves and the bottom three. But the side in 22nd, Derby County, have made a charge in recent weeks, winning their past three matches to close the gap to the sides above them.

After victory over Leeds, Pompey held a 10-point gap to the bottom three but a week later, that cushion is just four points.

Portsmouth now face a two-week international break before having the chance to redeem themselves when they host Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, 29 March.

"The next two weeks is going to be miserable and that's the way it should be." Mousinho added.

"I'd love to be more positive about it but we have to be a bit harsher because the message just isn't sinking in.

"We're working incredibly hard but the message isn't sinking in for certain players - most of the players at Preston played very well for 87 minutes but if you want to do that then you find yourself back in League One as a player and us as a club."