John Mousinho speaks following Pompey's 1-1 draw at MK Dons in Tuesday night's friendly.
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00:00John, you wanted a reaction, a response after the game, is that what you got tonight?
00:06I thought we did get that in the first half of the game, I thought we came out of the traps fast,
00:10I thought we started well, we pressed really well, we got the ball back on the turnover a couple of times
00:14with MK a really decent footballing side, they've played some really impressive stuff under Mike
00:21since he's come into the football club and obviously got really close last season in terms of getting promoted
00:26I thought we played well in the first half, we got ourselves in really good positions,
00:30I thought on the ball we looked composed, we moved the ball well, in decent enough shape
00:35unfortunately when we came out at half time I thought we were the complete opposite side that we did in the first half
00:40and we couldn't really put anything together in possession or out of possession
00:44I'd like to say we got what we deserved in the second half but I think we got a bit more fortunate than that
00:49I think we probably should have lost the game, the result isn't important but the performance at this stage of the season
00:54needs to be better across 90 minutes
00:56Obviously the performance wasn't good enough against Wickham but how much better was it's day overall would you say?
01:01I'd say it was chalk and cheese at half time, it was a much much better first half, we looked like a decent outfit
01:06we looked like a side that knew how to string a few passes together and also get on the press and get on the front foot
01:14and unfortunately we came out in the second half and we didn't manage to do any of that
01:18I think probably the most displeasing thing was the fact that I thought we gave the ball away really sloppily
01:25and we just didn't look like we could get near them on the press
01:27and we let them out of some really poor areas in terms of what we're talking about
01:32there was one that we moved that MK put together and we started basically from the corner flag and we just couldn't lay a glove on them
01:38so that for me is, there's plenty we'll take responsibility for as a staff
01:43but I think that for me is something that we're not talking about shape or we're not talking about getting done by pressing wrong
01:50that's just individuals matched up and not being able to get near the man
01:53and it looked at times in the second half like we couldn't get near the opposition number
01:57One player that's caught the eye pre-season I'd say is Josh Murphy, have you been happy with how he's done so far?
02:02Yeah I thought he was outstanding, he really looked like he was a threat in the first half
02:05he got his goal, I think he maybe was probably a bit disappointed not to get an assist or maybe another goal
02:10he looked like he was a constant outlaw on that side so a real real threat
02:13and yeah I think that's something that we can keep building upon if we keep getting the ball out to Josh
02:18and keep getting him at full-backs then I think he's going to be a real one to look out for for the rest of the season
02:25He's a different sort of winger we've seen in recent times, a mercurial player really isn't he? He loves hogging that touchline
02:32Yeah we want him to get the ball out wide and we want to be able to switch it to Murph out wide
02:36and get him an isolated 1v1 with a full-back and that's the most important thing for us
02:40he can obviously take players down the outside, he can cut inside onto his right foot as well
02:44and I think he's excellent at doing both and you saw today the threat that he was in the first half
02:49and yeah we're really pleased with that
02:50Can you see what he could bring you in the Championship?
02:52Oh yeah definitely that's the reason we signed him and that's the reason we brought him into the Football Club
02:56because of how threatening he is and how threatening he can be and we want to see a lot more of that
03:01He hasn't got an ounce of fat on him either has he? He's very lean
03:04Yeah I mean a really good physical specimen and that's the sort of players we want to bring in the Championship
03:10and Josh has had that experience, he's had the experience in the Championship, he's had the experience in the Premier League
03:14and we need him to come and kick us on and make sure that he pushes those standards even higher
03:18How has he settled into the Club as well?
03:20Brilliantly well I think, he's moved down with his young family and it's really pleasing for us to be able to do that for him
03:26and give him that security and give him that backing and we want him to come down and flourish
03:31I think it's really important for players to come and move down to Portsmouth, we've already spoken about that
03:35I think it's important for them to get a feel of what it's like to live close enough to the city
03:40whether they live in the city or not, it probably wouldn't be advisable
03:43but only because they're mobbed, I live in Portsmouth and you know how much I love it
03:47but I think sometimes players do just pop themselves off the island and make sure they're close enough
03:53and I think he's settled in really well and I think he'll have a really successful Portsmouth career
03:58Obviously we had the unfortunate news about Colby Bishop earlier on today
04:01Yeah, a real blow in terms of our plans for the squad and our plans for the season
04:07you know how important Colby's been over the past couple of seasons
04:10I think with 41 league goals and plenty of other assists, plenty of other goals in the Cups as well
04:17just his all-round play is really going to be missed
04:19but I think the most important thing for us now is to first of all be grateful that we caught it
04:24I think the heart screening that we do and the heart screening that all the governing bodies chip in to do
04:29is really really important clearly because what we have avoided now is an incident where we didn't know about it
04:34and there's an incident in training or a game where Colby keels over and no one knows what's going on
04:40so that's the most important thing that we have caught it
04:42Colby's now a young dad, he's got a young daughter, that's the most important thing for him
04:47and we need to get him under the knife, it's major surgery
04:53it's not something that's usual in football so there's a lot of variables, there's a lot of things that are unexpected
04:58but I think it's all a positive reaction to the news today and how much everybody's behind Colby
05:02we're going to make sure that he's right, we're going to make sure that he's fit before we think about anything football-wise
05:06Do your medical staff deserve a lot of credit for that as well for finding it?
05:09Yes, I think the credit on this one should really go to football as a whole
05:17I know that sounds a bit wishy-washy but certainly when I was playing, cardiac screening wasn't something that was done on a frequent basis
05:25through pre-season, I think now the funding's there to be able to do it
05:29I should have known from my time at the PFA but I can't quite remember, I think it might come from the FA actually
05:35but it all comes from that sort of collective pot where the EFL, the FA, football clubs all come together
05:41and make sure that medical screening's done for football clubs
05:44so we had that done pre-season, that's something that's mandatory now
05:47and the cardiac screening's mandatory for all players
05:49so we're going to catch those sort of things and I think that's maybe just a pat on the back for football in general
05:55that we've caught something like that
05:56How is Colby at the moment?
05:58He's okay, he's obviously not thrilled but I think what it will be is
06:03I hope that by the time he has the surgery and hopefully everything goes successfully
06:09I think we'll all be really grateful that we've caught it
06:12I think that's the most important thing
06:14and we haven't had an incident where Colby collapses on the pitch
06:19and there's something more serious than what we're facing right now
06:23so Colby's okay, I've seen him around the training ground the last couple of days
06:27and he's actually in really good spirits and I think he's really excited
06:29not excited, sorry, it's a long word
06:31but I think he's looking forward to getting the procedure done so he can get on with, first of all, his life and then with football
06:36And when will the procedure happen?
06:38I think we're looking for it to happen in early August so we should be in the next couple of weeks
06:44How long are you expecting to miss?
06:46We don't know, there's some precedent in this with a couple of professional sports players
06:52Conor Goulton had it done and there was a rugby player for him and Saracens that had the same procedure
06:57but we just don't know, obviously Conor's come back and he's played
07:01same with the rugby player, so both have come back and they've played and had really good careers after that
07:07so we're really hopeful from that point of view but we don't want to put any pressure on the timescoring
07:11if it was an ACL, if it was an ankle injury then we're a lot more comfortable
07:16and everybody in the medical staff has seen it and we all know where we're going
07:20but with these I think it's a case of just seeing how it goes and supporting Colby through that
07:24and making sure that, first of all, he's fit and he's healthy as a person
07:28and then thinking about the football after that
07:30Could he play this season?
07:32I think he could but we're not going to put any pressure on him
07:35In his last two years at this football club he's barely missed a game either has he?
07:39Yeah, I think the only games that he missed since I've been here
07:42he turned his ankle at Burton and he missed three games after that
07:45so he missed Northampton, Shrewsbury and then Bolton and then he came back fit after that
07:51I don't know if you saw him, I think he came back for the Shrewsbury game
07:56not that any of this matters but yeah, he's hardly missed a game
08:01He's been an outstanding player for the football club
08:06with all the goals that he's scored, the assists, the way that he leads the line
08:09the way that he's in the dressing room and yeah, we're going to miss him
08:12Thank you