John Mousinho labels Portsmouth players ‘unacceptable’ in the wake of ‘devastating’ Coventry City defeat

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Portsmouth failed to hold onto a potentially vital point in their away trip to Coventry City on Wednesday night, with John Mousinho left disappointed.

Pundits predicted a victory for Cov following the 4-1 win for Portsmouth back in December. Mousinho admitted Coventry are the better side than his as well. Jamie Paterson struck in the 94th minute to sink his side and see them leave empty-handed.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
13	Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday	41	14	11	16	56	63	-7	53
14	PrestonPreston	41	10	19	12	42	49	-7	49
15	SwanseaSwansea	40	13	9	18	41	51	-10	48
16	QPRQPR	40	11	13	16	45	53	-8	46
17	PortsmouthPortsmouth	40	12	9	19	48	63	-15	45
18	Oxford UnitedOxford United	40	11	12	17	41	57	-16	45
19	Hull CityHull City	41	11	11	19	40	49	-9	44
20	Stoke CityStoke City	41	10	14	17	42	54	-12	44
21	DerbyDerby	41	11	9	21	42	52	-10	42

We learnt five things from the game, including that Pompey still remain short of the points needed to survive the drop, while Coventry ought to have had a penalty in the first half of the contest as well, with Andre Dozzell fortunate not to have handed one to the home side.

Frank Lampard was pleased that his substitutes made an impact for Cov, unlike John Mousinho’s. It applies pressure to Pompey to get the job done in the final five games of the campaign, with a handful of extra points required to avoid relegation from the Championship.

• READ MORE: 17-year Portsmouth record finally broken after Newcastle United beat Liverpool at Wembley

John Mousinho lays into Portsmouth performance after Coventry City defeat

Speaking post-match to Sky Sports, Mousinho outlined his thoughts and frustration. He said: “93 minutes and 50 seconds of a really solid display and you switch off in one moment — make a really, really poor decision in one moment — and the ball is in the back of the net.

“There are loads of moments in football matches where I can accept if Coventry score from certain moments or if we press the way we’re supposed to press and all of a sudden Coventry break the press or hit one of the switches and get at us — that’s fine, I can live with that. But the nature of that goal was unacceptable.

“I don’t actually understand how we actually managed to get ourselves in that mess. Because all game we’ve dealt with that threat. Connor Ogilvie was there, he was fine, absolutely no issue. Two players challenge for the ball and the next thing you know the ball is in the back of the net.

“It was just bizarre. There’s no excuse for panic setting in. They’re professional footballers and their mentality has got them to this level. So, there should be absolutely no need for that to happen. It obviously has happened and we need to address it.

“I thought we were excellent in the first half, thought we had the better of the chances, I thought we were the better side in the first half. We controlled the ball well when we had the ball. We had to sit in at times but didn’t really concede many chances. Those fine margins.

“To come away losing the game is devastating. We’ve got to get a lot more realistic with the challenges we’re facing and how we’re dealing with them. We have to have positivity but a bit of realism. 

“We can’t keep coming away from home — three times we’ve now done it — conceding 85+ minutes. You can’t put that amount of work into a game, like you’ve seen tonight, and not come away with something.”

• READ MORE: Open heart surgery saved his life seven months ago, now he’s scoring goals in the EFL Championship

Supercomputer predicts Pompey safety in relegation battle

There are still plenty of twists and turns to come in the race to survive in the run-in, but Pompey may have to rely on their strong home form in order to remain in the division at the first time of asking after a memorable promotion campaign

One of the key contributors this term, and one who is likely to have more of a say in the run-in, is Josh Murphy, who has been the signing of the season and he could be the difference between survival and relegation in 2024/25.

Despite defeat, there is still good news for Portsmouth. Opta’s supercomputer believes they have just a 5.48% chance of going down, which is a better figure than seven sides. Crucially, it is significantly better than six of those other than Hull City.

They may have to lean into being a strong home team in the last five games, with three winnable games yet to be played at Fratton Park. They have taken 77.78% of their points total in home fixtures this term, which is one of the highest proportions in the entire division.