Portsmouth

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Watch a Solent Sport Special as Ian Wilding reviews Portsmouth's start to the 2025-26 season from 18:00 GMT on Friday 14 November.

With special guests former Pompey winger Mark Kelly and the Portsmouth News' chief Pompey reporter Neil Allen, join the trio as they take a look at Pompey's season so far in this hour-long special.

Make sure to get involved by sending "Solent" plus your message to 0800 321333 on WhatsApp or via @solentsport on X.

You can watch the full episode live as it happens on the BBC Sport Website or you can listen in on BBC Radio Solent.

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent's Portsmouth commentator

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Two months ago, Portsmouth had the better of a goalless south coast derby at St Mary's. They were a win away from jumping into the top six and fans were dreaming of a memorable season.

Since then Portsmouth have taken six points from 10 matches, including just two from their past six to sit only four points and two places above the relegation zone.

In my view, injuries are the number one reason for Portsmouth's slide and the derby week was a key moment.

Pompey had already lost Callum Lang to a hamstring injury in the middle of August. Josh Murphy wouldn't start a game after the derby for nine matches. Nico Schmid hasn't appeared since breaking his hand against Southampton, albeit Joe Bursik has proved a solid deputy.

Against Sheffield Wednesday six days later, Conor Shaughnessy tore his hamstring going to intercept a ball. Wednesday's goal from that move effectively ended Pompey's chances of getting anything from that match and Shaughnessy is sorely missed at the back.

Pompey's squad is not strong enough to cope with the absence of so many key players. Colby Bishop's drop in form is a concern but also linked to the absences around him.

Of the players signed this summer, only Adrian Segecic has made a big impact, although he's missed the last four matches due to injury.

Josh Knight has been up and down at the back. Luke Le Roux and Mark Kosznovszky are yet to adjust to the Championship. Hayden Matthews, signed back in January, hasn't kicked on as was hoped.

These players may still go on to prove astute signings but Pompey need fit players who can affect Championship football now. Matt Ritchie was never adequately replaced.

John Mousinho will be given time to turn this situation around, you can be sure of that.

Last season he had captain Marlon Pack playing out of position in defence. Yes, Pack had some poor games away from home but his performances at Fratton Park were hugely significant in the run of home wins which that kept Pompey up.

Similar outside-the-box thinking might be required this time around, especially with left-back Connor Ogilvie now out for up to three months.

A fully fit Murphy and the returning trio of Lang, Segecic and Schmid will make a big difference and be a huge help to the side. Whether it will be enough to turn things around remains to be seen.

Pompey had an excellent January transfer window 12 months ago but there are still still another 10 fixtures to navigate before any reinforcements can appear.

"I would edge towards why Pompey are where they are is more the players - who they've got available and how well they're playing rather than tactics.

"But that doesn't mean John Mousinho has got everything right because they wouldn't be in this position if he had."

BBC Radio Solent's Chris Wise and Andy Moon reflect on Portsmouth's 3-2 loss at Hull City and discuss whether it might now be time to panic.

You can listen to the latest episode of 'Who Needs Mourinho?' and get more Portsmouth news on BBC Sounds.

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent's Portsmouth commentator

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The bright start to the season now feels a distant memory.

Pompey have taken just one point from the past five matches. Hull City feels like a game where a draw at the very least was there for the taking.

Defensively, Portsmouth weren't good enough. Hull had already missed two excellent chances before they scored and the winner came from a fairly simple long ball.

Josh Murphy understandably is not 100% fit but he played the full 90 minutes and Pompey's second goal came from a moment of Premier League quality from the winger.

A back three worked out against Wrexham but didn't have the desired outcome at Hull. Luke Le Roux's slow start to his Pompey career continued as he was taken off at half-time

The international break will help a couple of key players get closer to fitness. It will also give boss John Mousinho time for some soul searching and to try to figure out solutions.

Pompey need them.

Tom Chappell
Fan writer from Fournilwrittenalloverit

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Saturday afternoon's defeat by Hull City means Pompey's wait for a second away win in the Championship this season will be three months at least. Adrian Segecic's winner at Oxford feels an awfully long time ago.

According to folklore, "if the first week in August is unusually warm, the coming winter will be snowy and long". In Pompey's case, this could not be closer to reality.

A seventh league loss with a touch under a third of the season gone already.

John Mousinho's side are not currently performing at the level required of them to maintain second-tier status.

Our form is alarmingly poor, and there is a palpable immediacy to win a couple of games and go on a positive run, which is something that right now this team just does not look capable of.

One man who did not deserve the outcome from Saturday was Terry Devlin, a gritty, passionate display and two goals to go with it. Two generational knee slides in front of the travelling fans too, so disappointingly futile considering the outcome.

Pompey were probably just about deserving of a point at a push, but you could not make an argument for anything more than that.

Scoring two goals away from home has to yield more of a return than a defeat - we have got to be so much better at defending set-plays and must attack with more of an intensity and purpose.

Plenty to work on then for a group of players bereft of confidence and a tough set of fixtures to tackle once Championship football resumes in two weeks.

Find more from Tom at the Fournilwrittenalloverit, external YouTube channel

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Portsmouth boss John Mousinho said that he was "frustrated" by the way his side conceded goals in Saturday's game at Hull City.

The Blues lost 3-2 in the lunchtime kick-off and have now been beaten in four of their last five matches in the league.

They were level 2-2 at the break, but Joe Gelhardt scored late on from a ball played over the top of the Portsmouth defence to win the game for the Tigers.

"We switched off completely for the third goal and that's what lost us the game, the third one feels like the most frustrating one," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"We worked hard and pressed and looked solid as the game went on but we have to be miles better when we go forward.

"Murph [Josh Murphy] can't be the only outlet we have, we have to take care of the ball better and have to create more in terms of opportunities and we haven't been.

"We have to come back after the international break and cut out those errors that have left us in the table where we are."

Portsmouth are now 20th in the Championship table and return to action next weekend when they host Millwall at Fratton Park.

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The south coast derby between Portsmouth and Southampton has been moved to Sunday, 25 January at 12pm.

It had originally been set for the Saturday at 3pm but, mirroring the game between the two teams in September, it has now been moved to the Sunday with an earlier kick-off.

Earlier in the season Southampton and Portsmouth played out a competitive but fairly disappointing 0-0 draw at St Mary's after plenty of build up and needle between the two rivals.

The derby now moves to Fratton Park, and Saints will have a different manager in the dugout following the sacking of Will Still.

Southampton are one place above Pompey in the table, sitting 19th on 15 points while Portsmouth are 20th and have 14 points.

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho says he feels "frustrated" with fans who leak team news on social media before the club makes their announcement.

"Who knows how much it affects the game?" Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"If you look at the mode that the team is getting out, it's via Portsmouth fans who you would assume would know that information is deliberately kept in house but feel the need to leak that online and spread it.

"We don't want to be a place that's shut off, we want to be open, we want everyone to feel part of the community and welcome.

"It's just a bit of a shame really, a really frustrating one from my perspective and hopefully, it doesn't happen too many times again."

Pompey face Hull City on Saturday (12:30 GMT) but the side will likely be without left-back Connor Ogilvie, who was substituted off in the midweek draw with Wrexham with a knee injury.

"We will send him for a scan tomorrow and we will have the results early next week," Mousinho added.

Striker Thomas Waddingham will be out for a further six to eight weeks with a quad issue but Callum Lang, Adrian Segecic and Nicolas Schmid are all expected to return against Millwall following the international break.

Listen to the full interview with Mousinho and more Portsmouth content on BBC Sounds.

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Saturday lunchtime brings a big game at both ends of the Championship table as Hull City wlll seek to get their play-off push back on track against lowly Portsmouth (12:30 GMT).

The Tigers went down 2-1 at Derby on Tuesday night to end a six-match unbeaten run from which they claimed 14 points and slipped to 8th, albeit only a point outside the play-off places.

Pompey have gone three games without a goal but did end a run of three straight defeats with an entertaining goalless draw against Wrexham on Wednesday but still slipped to 20th, five points but only two places above the relegation zone.

The Blues have won just once in their past 10 matches, scoring six goals and earning seven points.

• Hull are unbeaten in their past three league meetings with Portsmouth (W1 D2), with their two last season both ending 1-1 – the Tigers haven't gone four without loss against Pompey since 1980 (5 in a row).

• Portsmouth have only lost on one of their past 11 league visits to Hull City (W5 D5), losing 1-0 in September 2011 under Steve Cotterill.

• Hull City have won four of their seven home league games this season (D2 L1) and could already match their win tally from the whole of last season at the MKM stadium (W5 D8 L10).

• Portsmouth have failed to score in each of their past three Championship matches (D1 L2), and could go four in a row without scoring in the second tier for the first time since December 1999 (a run of five).

• Joe Gelhardt has scored eight goals in 15 league starts at home in the Championship for Hull City, and only Norwich City's Josh Sargent (10) has netted more home goals in 2025 than the Leeds United loanee. 11 of his 17 league goals during his career have come in Yorkshire (9 in Hull, 1 in Leeds, 1 in Rotherham).

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent's Portsmouth commentator

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Wednesday night's goalless draw with Wrexham was not the victory that would have eased everyone's concerns but it was a much improved performance - albeit it would have been difficult to be worse than Saturday.

It was a bold selection from John Mousinho to play a 3-4-2-1 formation. Conor Chaplin and Josh Murphy were a slightly lopsided pair behind Colby Bishop but this setup got both in their strongest positions.

Wrexham will argue they were worthy of a point as the better side in the first half and missing a one-on-one in the second, however Pompey will be scratching their heads at how at least one opportunity didn't find its way in at the other end.

This showing will help build confidence after the weekend but Pompey must find a way moving forward to win matches like this one.

Portsmouth will look to end a tricky spell with a victory over Wrexham when the Welsh side make the trip to Fratton Park on Wednesday night (20:00 GMT).

Pompey are without a win in four league games, losing their past three successively.

However, Wrexham have begun to build momentum. Undefeated across their past three (W2 D1) to see them start to make an ascent up the table.

• This will be the first meeting between Portsmouth and Wrexham in any competition since 1986, when Pompey beat the Welsh side 4-1 on aggregate in the second round of the League Cup (2-1 away, 2-0 home).

• Wrexham won 1-0 on both of their first two trips to face Portsmouth in the Football League in 1977 and 1978, but did lose 3-0 on their most recent in September 1982 when led by Bobby Roberts.

• Portsmouth have lost their last two home league games, last losing three on the bounce at Fratton Park in March 2018 under Kenny Jackett.

• Wrexham are winless in their last three away league games (D2 L1), but the Dragons haven't gone four without victory on the road since they were promoted back to the Football League in 2023.

• Wrexham's Josh Windass has been directly involved in five goals in seven Football League appearances against Portsmouth, scoring once for Accrington Stanley and grabbing two goals and two assists for Sheffield Wednesday.

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho says his team got "everything wrong" from the start of the game with Birmingham City on Saturday.

It was Pompey's third loss in a row after a rampant Birmingham side netted four goals against them.

Mousinho has acknowledged his team need to talk honestly about how to improve.

"We went through everything this morning. It was an honest conversation about what I need to do better," he told BBC Radio Solent.

"Clearly there's a different message I need to get across to the boys and clearly we need to change something.

"In my opinion, there are things we've worked on and talked about that should be very, very clear and we're not executing them."

The result leaves Mousinho's side 20th in the standings as they prepare to host Wrexham on Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

"We're facing a side that are in very good form. They have three or four players who are in extremely good form," he added.

"For me, that's the exciting part of the challenge."

Listen to the full interview and more on BBC Sounds

"It is amazing how quickly things have got so bleak. John Mousinho will be feeling the pressure that comes with losing, but I don't think his job is under threat."

BBC Radio Solent's Chris Wise and Andy Moon reflect on Pompey's 4-0 away defeat against Birmingham City and discuss the wider issues behind the club's recent form.

Tom Chappell
Fan Writer from Fournilwrittenalloverit

Image source, Getty Images

Time and again last season, we would regularly embarrass ourselves away from home.

What's so bitterly disappointing, is despite how much progress we all thought we were making and how far we felt we'd come, we've been truly annihilated on our travels yet again.

And worryingly, Saturday's defeat by Birmingham saw a return to the style of performance and result that took Pompey close to returning to League One at the first time of asking.

The game itself we started incredibly poorly, the opening half an hour was truly awful. A big penalty save from Joe Bursik meant Pompey were still in it at the break.

John Mousinho's attacking changes had barely made it onto the pitch before the floodgates opened for goals two and three. At which point the game was settled and anything we did north of 60 minutes became futile and immaterial. It could've been five or six.

I wrote previously that recent events meant Pompey were sleepwalking into a bit of trouble and nothing that happened on Saturday changed my stance on that at all. If anything it amplifies the issue.

With over 30 games to go, there's time on our side and a lot can change very quickly. It's clearly becoming apparent, if it wasn't already, that this season will be another where everything is geared towards survival.

Players deployed in their natural positions and a return for some key performers who have long been sidelined will make a difference.

But right now, it's very hard to see where Pompey's next set of three points will come from. One win in nine games is simply unacceptable.

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Portsmouth defender Jordan Williams says his side have to "come together and keep pushing" after a tough defeat at Birmingham on Saturday.

The Blues were well beaten 4-0 by the newly promoted side at St Andrews in what was their sixth defeat of the campaign.

Williams has been in and out of the side this season, making nine appearances across all competitions.

"It's not been good enough from us as a team," Williams told BBC Radio Solent.

"We need to put the game to bed as we have another one on Wednesday and we need to rectify it.

"We're disappointed because we want to be pushing up the table, not down the bottom fighting; we have to come together as a group and keep pushing."

John Mousinho's side now have a quick turnaround as they face Wrexham in midweek before taking on Hull City next weekend.

They sit 20th in the Championship table, with 13 points after 13 matches played.

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent's Portsmouth commentator

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Oh dear. By far Portsmouth's worst performance of the season and back to the bad old days of 12 months ago away from home.

As starts go, the first 10 minutes couldn't have been much worse. Pompey conceded a goal, saved a penalty, and saw Birmingham miss two great opportunities. They improved as the half went on, though - only to be even worse in the second half.

To concede three goals from set-pieces is a big concern. There were no real answers for Birmingham's clever corner routines.

This was a bold selection call from boss John Mousinho to leave out Colby Bishop and Conor Chaplin, even if neither are in great form. Missing Connor Ogilvie through illness was unfortunate, especially with back-up left-back Jacob Farrell still out injured.

There's now huge pressure on Wednesday's home game with Wrexham. Pompey cannot repeat performances like the one at St Andrews. There are other teams in the division who'll put more than four past them if they play like that.

Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho admitted his side "got the basics wrong" after their 4-0 drubbing at Birmingham.

Seung-ho Paik, Tomoki Iwata, Christoph Klarer and Keshi Anderson's efforts extended Pompey's winless run to four matches as they languish just four points above the relegation zone in 20th.

"The scoreline tells you everything you need to know — a really poor day. I think that's the only way to sum it up now," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"Pretty much everything from the start. We started poorly, made some really poor decisions.

"Birmingham were bright in terms of how they started and we just put ourselves completely on the back foot, very basic things we got wrong.

"As soon as we gave Birmingham a foothold in the game and that lift, it was very difficult after 10 or 15 minutes. It could have been two or three nil [in the first half]."

"Ultimately, when you lose as heavily as we did today, and it could have been more, pretty much everything we tried to do has gone wrong."

Marlon Pack says Portsmouth are making progress this season, even if the results don't reflect that.

Pompey lie 18th in the Championship, four points clear of the relegation zone, ahead of Saturday's trip to Birmingham City (15:00 GMT), but have just one win in their past eight ganes, with four defeats in that spell, including the past two in succession.

Pack told BBC Radio Solent: "I think we've been disappointed but, I might get slaughtered for saying this, it's also shown progression.

"We're obviously very disappointed in terms of our last two home games. Coventry were a really good side but we came away kicking ourselves with what-ifs, similar to Stoke - if we'd scored a goal earlier could we then apply more pressure, and then of course the manner we conceded the goals."

Of their opening 12 Championship games, 11 have ended in draws or been decided by a single goal.

Pack added: "The challenge for us is to turn those tight games and fine margins into points, whether that's draws or wins.

"I don't think we are too negative in the group but we are a little bit disappointed, because we have been in games.

"Weirdly, last season, when you get beat comprehensively, which we did at times, it's a little bit easier to take - you can hold your hands up and say 'they're better than us.'

"We're not a million miles away. It's about putting it all together in one complete performance.

"We've had halves, we've had moments, we've had spells, but we probably haven't had a clear dominant performance yet this season."

After missing the start of the season with a knee injury, 34-year-old Pack has now started the past five games and said: "The knee is good. I'm very pleased to be back in the side.

"I want to play. It's down to me to keep hold of my shirt. The way we're looking to play suits me. I had to break my way into the team this year.

"The results have been disappointing but I feel I've been consistent enough."

Listen to the full interview with Pack and more Portsmouth content on BBC Sounds.