Pompey boss John Mousinho Luton Town preview
Pompey boss John Mousinho previews this weekend's clash with Luton Town, as well as bringing all the latest injury and transfer updates from Fratton Park.
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00:00How do you feel about last night's defeat?
00:03We're not happy that we lost the game, we wanted to progress through to the next round of the cup
00:08but the most important thing for us this year is the league and we've got the league campaign to focus on now until January
00:13and that's the only benefit to come out of the game last night and I thought the performance was ok
00:18I thought there were plenty that needed the minutes and plenty that got the minutes and got through them
00:22so overall not a disastrous night, not the result we wanted but we'll move on, we'll dust ourselves down and get on with the weekend.
00:28Is it beneficial to have that extra time now just to concentrate on the league?
00:31Definitely, I think we've got a free week next week leading into the Middlesbrough game
00:35and then a free week after that where we would have potentially had the Carabao Cup game
00:38and I think players want to play games and we do as well, we do enjoy it as a coach and staff
00:44but I think having time out on the grass with the boys, particularly when we've still got new players coming in
00:48and new players to come in, I think it'll be really important for us to have those training minutes rather than games.
00:53We saw Jordan Williams at centre-back again last night, not in a natural position to prepare for a well-placed bunt
00:59for most of the season, is that an option going forward or is that an area you are looking to strengthen at the moment?
01:04It's not particularly an option that's in the forefront of my mind going forward
01:08it was just something we had to do last night because we didn't have any cover at centre-back
01:11and we can't afford to lose anyone but we certainly couldn't afford to lose one of the centre-halves to injury
01:17so we just had to be a bit cautious in terms of the way we approached it and shuffle the deck with that
01:20and that's why Jordan ended up at centre-back.
01:22The two centre-backs by training are currently out, Tom McIntyre and Regan Poole, are there any updates from them?
01:28Tom McIntyre has been out on the grass today running, didn't involve himself in a training session
01:33but it's positive when you get back out and you get your boots on
01:36and Regan actually trained with the group today, not a full training session
01:39but it was the first time he'd been involved in a training session, he did the warm-up, the passing drill
01:43and then he involved himself in a possession as well so really good steps for Regan
01:47and I think over the next couple of weeks hopefully we'll get him in full training.
01:50There's a moment of concern as well for Pompey's fans in attendance, Tom Lowry seems to be a bit of a discomfort
01:55any update on his situation?
01:57Nothing at the moment, we're still less than 24 hours post the injury
02:00so we're going to see how that settles down over the next couple of days and hopefully it's not too bad for Tom.
02:04Also a couple of players out, CB AB, Josh Murphy, Jacob Farrell, any news on their situation?
02:09Yeah, all three of them are still in the physio room, they've not managed to get back out onto the grass yet
02:13but obviously getting closer to their return, I think hopefully Josh is going to be a couple of weeks, same with Jacob
02:18and Cass with touch and go, it's day to day at the moment with the groin
02:22depending on whether it tightens up and how he feels so we're just keeping an eye on that situation
02:26making sure that when we do have Cassini back he's at 100%.
02:29And I understand Colby's now undergone surgery, any word on how that went?
02:33Yeah, all went well, all went really successfully, obviously open heart surgery is a major thing
02:39and Colby is right back at it, he's probably up and about walking around a bit too much
02:44so we're trying to make sure that he just looks after himself
02:48and makes sure that he doesn't try and push things too hard and too fast, that's Colby's nature
02:52he wants to get back, he wants to get back playing, he's already frustrated that he's missed a couple of games
02:56so it's gone really well, I think the surgeon's really happy with the graft, really happy with where everything's at
03:02and I think it could have gone as well as it possibly could.
03:05It's still a couple of weeks until the Charter window closes, what business do you feel is left to do?
03:10I think we've still got plenty to do and we're working away in quite a number of areas
03:14and things are changing daily, the landscape's changing
03:17we are working hard to make sure that we strengthen the squad and bring in the right players in the right areas
03:22and I think it'll still be a busy last couple of weeks.
03:24And next up is Luton, you saw them on Monday, how do you feel about their takeover of their squad?
03:30Yeah, Luton are a side that competed in the Premier League last year and were very, very competitive
03:35and they gave a lot of teams a lot of problems and I expect them to be very, very strong in the Championship this year
03:41and wherever Rob's gone he's had success, he's been an excellent head coach for what's his short career so far
03:49and the time he's had at Luton has been incredible really, to take that club to where he took them in the Premier League
03:54and to make a fist of it like Luton did, competing against some of the bigger sides that they competed against
04:01it was an amazing thing to watch last year and they've got through it with largely the same squad as last year
04:07a couple of additions and they obviously would have been disappointed with the result the other night
04:11but I think they are a very, very strong team, a very strong squad, very well coached and we have to be very wary.
04:16And it'll be the first Championship game at Fracton Park for a good 12 years, how are you feeling ahead of that one?
04:21I think everybody's excited about the prospect of what it's going to be like to go back and play at home
04:26and we've had some amazing times at home over the past 18 months and I think if yesterday night's anything to go by
04:33where it was the first round of the League Cup, we were losing in front of less than half full Fracton Park
04:40and the atmosphere was still brilliant, I think we're in for a right treat at the weekend.
04:43So what are you hoping or rather what are you expecting to see from the fans on Saturday?
04:47I know what we're going to get, it's going to be a raucous atmosphere, it's going to be amazing
04:53the crowd will be, or Fracton Park will be bouncing and it'll just be a pleasure to be there
04:58I think it's a real honour to play at Fracton Park at any time, let alone when it's an occasion like this
05:04and I think it's going to be brilliant, I think everybody's been looking forward to this day for a long time
05:08and hopefully we see that reflected in the amount of noise and how intimidating it is for the opposition.
05:14Just further more to that, a couple of transfer names, Nicholas Schmidt, the Austrian keeper, that's a name that's surfaced
05:20anything you can say on that?
05:22Yeah, just that that's a player who is contracted to another club, so yeah, not commenting on that.
05:28Yeah, and so therefore the other name that's surfaced, Daniel Jebberson, a young player that's obviously gone to Bournemouth.
05:34Yeah, so same on that, obviously Daniel Jebberson has gone from Sheffield United to Bournemouth for a fair bit of money
05:40and I suspect he'll be involved in Bournemouth's squad come the end of the Premier League season.
05:45But these players like that, these are the markets you're looking for, for your loans, Premier League clubs like that, that'd be where you're looking to go?
05:51Yeah, we've spoken all summer about what it looks like with those Premier League clubs and the fact that not many 21s have actually moved yet
05:58and a lot of that's because of the Euros and a lot of that's because Premier League clubs are looking at it
06:03and there hasn't been a huge amount of movement at the top level in terms of player transfers
06:07so I think a lot of those youngsters are maybe going to get a chance as we get into the Premier League season
06:12and I think it's going to be much more of a one that's going to be late in the transfer window for Premier League clubs
06:16to actually decide whether they're going to move some of the youngsters on.