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.