• last year
Pompey boss John Mousinho fumed at his players after the Fleetwood draw. Here's his verdict from Fratton Park.
Transcript
00:00 Here with Pompey boss John Massino. John that was a frustrating watch for a long period, can you put your finger on why that was the case?
00:07 I can put my finger on why it was a frustrating watch, I'm not necessarily sure I can put my finger on why we didn't perform as well as I think we could have performed.
00:16 I think it was a frustrating watch because we put ourselves in such a good position at the back end of the first half without playing really well.
00:23 I think we've done enough just to be ahead at half time and we've got control of the game without creating a huge amount of chances.
00:30 We obviously put the penalty away, thought we were in a good position going into the second half and then came out in the second half dreadful for 20 minutes.
00:38 We got exactly what we deserved which was the equaliser from Fleetwood and then we came alive again all of a sudden for the last 25 minutes.
00:45 It wasn't to be, it wasn't enough and we couldn't afford to put ourselves in those positions. We even put ourselves in positions where we could have lost the game.
00:53 I didn't think it was good enough, I'm really struggling to put my finger on why but those were the mistakes of a frustrating watch.
01:00 Were Fleetwood underestimated subconsciously otherwise?
01:04 Possibly but we had got through 45 where we saw they were going to be well organised, they were going to be tough to break down, we knew there was always going to be a threat on the break.
01:11 And aside with the amount of pace and power and athleticism, we were going to be decent enough from set pieces.
01:17 So if you give them set piece after set piece and don't deal with it then you're going to get punished.
01:23 More than likely it was the fact that we were so back-footed in terms of the way we dealt with some of the players in the first 20 minutes.
01:29 We did end up being too much at pace and I think it was because of the confusion we were in.
01:36 You've got the platform there, were you expecting any expectations to kick on from there?
01:46 Yeah quite right, the expectation should have been. The expectation from me was that we would kick on, the expectation from the fans was that we should have kicked on.
01:53 I do hold the lads to those high standards, it's nothing short of what we expect them to produce.
01:59 We see the quality we've got there now, we've done well, the fans particularly have done well, we've seen the quality of this group we've got.
02:06 And today they didn't produce that, they didn't produce the quality that we need to maintain our position at the top of the league.
02:14 And more disappointingly I think they didn't quite produce the mentality coming out of the second half.
02:19 I can't remember a wealth of chances in the second half, also it just seemed like the final choice, the final execution, the final ball seemed like the wrong one.
02:28 Yeah I thought it was poor, I thought our crossing was really poor today, we kept hitting the first man.
02:34 Particularly when you've got Colby Bishop in the box who if you do deliver it in the middle of the six yard box you give yourself half a chance.
02:40 We didn't give him a chance today and that is something that we have to live with but isn't good enough.
02:46 You mentioned the warning from Cheltenham in their result early in the season, it was a bit similar to that, that warning wasn't needed.
02:53 Yeah I don't think we've moved on a long way since that game so I didn't have any worries going into the game that the boys would be too complacent.
03:02 The most disappointing thing was that they weren't in the first half, it wasn't a brilliant display in terms of us moving the ball.
03:08 But when we did move it quickly, when we got at them we created opportunities and created chances and got the goal.
03:13 But we didn't look like we were defending on the back foot, we didn't look like we were going to lose any second balls, we competed.
03:18 We were very well organised defensively, they caught us a couple of times in the break from set pieces but that was it.
03:23 I thought it was a different game at the start of the second half, I thought it was one where we did look like we were on the back foot.
03:27 We did lose a lot of second balls and they didn't get punished for it.
03:31 I've never seen no right side in any way so you need to put that right moving forward.
03:36 The only thing I'd say to the boys is that they have high expectations of us because of how good the team's been.
03:45 I don't think I'm wrong in that, I don't think I'm unreasonable to demand a lot more than what we saw today.
03:51 One change, Colby coming in for Cassini, what was your thinking behind that?
03:57 I thought that the game would suit Colby and it was an easy choice because you're bringing Colby back in and it was a very difficult choice because you're leaving Cassini out.
04:08 That's the best way I can put it. We're blessed with the fact that we have two centre-forwards that can compete for that spot.
04:14 It's a great spot for us to be in going forward.
04:17 A boost for Cassini with a late call-up on Thursday evening when the news came out for the Asian Cup squad for Australia.
04:24 Fully deserved for Cassini to put himself in that position, having only been in the country for four months is brilliant.
04:31 He's done ever so well considering the fact that he's not started a huge amount of games since the start of the season.
04:37 He's been excellent for us over the last three starts. Fully deserved.
04:41 One of your fans would be cocky enough to see that Alex Robinson wasn't in the squad?
04:47 Ultimately we like the international recognition. We would have been delighted if both of them weren't in the squad.
04:52 I think we just ride our luck and get on with it. It's probably worth switching on to see Australia play because they must have some pretty good midfielders in there, which I'm sure they do.
05:03 I think it's a bonus for us that Alex isn't on.
05:05 How much of a boost given that Alex is staying around until the new year?
05:09 Massive boost. We've spoken vastly about Alex over the last few weeks. We need to make sure that we continue on that vein of form and keep producing performances.
05:22 Just on the defensive side, I think you've been very resolute lately. Have you looked back at that goal and seen what can be done to sort that out?
05:28 Yes. When it's a set-piece, we have to make sure that we're in the box, we're in the goalkeeper and we've got to make sure that we deal with those things.
05:37 I think when you put yourself in that spot, genuinely this isn't just about making it up, I was much more disappointed with the fact that we conceded the set-piece in the first place.
05:45 I just looked back at the corner before that led to that and if you see how back-footed our defender was now, we just backed off, backed off, backed off and allowed them to continue.
05:54 That was the part that's not acceptable.
05:56 If you allow them to continue the set-piece, that happens. I'm telling you for a few reasons. If you allow inside the ability to stay in games, then something like that will happen.
06:08 Set-piece, bad refereeing decision, somebody slips, misplace a pass and that is what I don't think is allowable and acceptable at this level.
06:19 I can live with the set-piece, I can't have a build-up and have to run the defender for 20 minutes up towards the goal.
06:27 Demand then to put that right move forward.
06:30 Yes, demand straight away and I think the lads know that. So yes, absolutely demand we have to be like that.

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