Portsmouth

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho says his team got "everything wrong" from the start of the game with Birmingham City on Saturday.

It was Pompey's third loss in a row after a rampant Birmingham side netted four goals against them.

Mousinho has acknowledged his team need to talk honestly about how to improve.

"We went through everything this morning. It was an honest conversation about what I need to do better," he told BBC Radio Solent.

"Clearly there's a different message I need to get across to the boys and clearly we need to change something.

"In my opinion, there are things we've worked on and talked about that should be very, very clear and we're not executing them."

The result leaves Mousinho's side 20th in the standings as they prepare to host Wrexham on Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

"We're facing a side that are in very good form. They have three or four players who are in extremely good form," he added.

"For me, that's the exciting part of the challenge."

Listen to the full interview and more on BBC Sounds

"It is amazing how quickly things have got so bleak. John Mousinho will be feeling the pressure that comes with losing, but I don't think his job is under threat."

BBC Radio Solent's Chris Wise and Andy Moon reflect on Pompey's 4-0 away defeat against Birmingham City and discuss the wider issues behind the club's recent form.

Tom Chappell
Fan Writer from Fournilwrittenalloverit

Image source, Getty Images

Time and again last season, we would regularly embarrass ourselves away from home.

What's so bitterly disappointing, is despite how much progress we all thought we were making and how far we felt we'd come, we've been truly annihilated on our travels yet again.

And worryingly, Saturday's defeat by Birmingham saw a return to the style of performance and result that took Pompey close to returning to League One at the first time of asking.

The game itself we started incredibly poorly, the opening half an hour was truly awful. A big penalty save from Joe Bursik meant Pompey were still in it at the break.

John Mousinho's attacking changes had barely made it onto the pitch before the floodgates opened for goals two and three. At which point the game was settled and anything we did north of 60 minutes became futile and immaterial. It could've been five or six.

I wrote previously that recent events meant Pompey were sleepwalking into a bit of trouble and nothing that happened on Saturday changed my stance on that at all. If anything it amplifies the issue.

With over 30 games to go, there's time on our side and a lot can change very quickly. It's clearly becoming apparent, if it wasn't already, that this season will be another where everything is geared towards survival.

Players deployed in their natural positions and a return for some key performers who have long been sidelined will make a difference.

But right now, it's very hard to see where Pompey's next set of three points will come from. One win in nine games is simply unacceptable.

Image source, Getty Images

Portsmouth defender Jordan Williams says his side have to "come together and keep pushing" after a tough defeat at Birmingham on Saturday.

The Blues were well beaten 4-0 by the newly promoted side at St Andrews in what was their sixth defeat of the campaign.

Williams has been in and out of the side this season, making nine appearances across all competitions.

"It's not been good enough from us as a team," Williams told BBC Radio Solent.

"We need to put the game to bed as we have another one on Wednesday and we need to rectify it.

"We're disappointed because we want to be pushing up the table, not down the bottom fighting; we have to come together as a group and keep pushing."

John Mousinho's side now have a quick turnaround as they face Wrexham in midweek before taking on Hull City next weekend.

They sit 20th in the Championship table, with 13 points after 13 matches played.

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent's Portsmouth commentator

Image source, Rex Features

Oh dear. By far Portsmouth's worst performance of the season and back to the bad old days of 12 months ago away from home.

As starts go, the first 10 minutes couldn't have been much worse. Pompey conceded a goal, saved a penalty, and saw Birmingham miss two great opportunities. They improved as the half went on, though - only to be even worse in the second half.

To concede three goals from set-pieces is a big concern. There were no real answers for Birmingham's clever corner routines.

This was a bold selection call from boss John Mousinho to leave out Colby Bishop and Conor Chaplin, even if neither are in great form. Missing Connor Ogilvie through illness was unfortunate, especially with back-up left-back Jacob Farrell still out injured.

There's now huge pressure on Wednesday's home game with Wrexham. Pompey cannot repeat performances like the one at St Andrews. There are other teams in the division who'll put more than four past them if they play like that.

Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho admitted his side "got the basics wrong" after their 4-0 drubbing at Birmingham.

Seung-ho Paik, Tomoki Iwata, Christoph Klarer and Keshi Anderson's efforts extended Pompey's winless run to four matches as they languish just four points above the relegation zone in 20th.

"The scoreline tells you everything you need to know — a really poor day. I think that's the only way to sum it up now," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"Pretty much everything from the start. We started poorly, made some really poor decisions.

"Birmingham were bright in terms of how they started and we just put ourselves completely on the back foot, very basic things we got wrong.

"As soon as we gave Birmingham a foothold in the game and that lift, it was very difficult after 10 or 15 minutes. It could have been two or three nil [in the first half]."

"Ultimately, when you lose as heavily as we did today, and it could have been more, pretty much everything we tried to do has gone wrong."

Marlon Pack says Portsmouth are making progress this season, even if the results don't reflect that.

Pompey lie 18th in the Championship, four points clear of the relegation zone, ahead of Saturday's trip to Birmingham City (15:00 GMT), but have just one win in their past eight ganes, with four defeats in that spell, including the past two in succession.

Pack told BBC Radio Solent: "I think we've been disappointed but, I might get slaughtered for saying this, it's also shown progression.

"We're obviously very disappointed in terms of our last two home games. Coventry were a really good side but we came away kicking ourselves with what-ifs, similar to Stoke - if we'd scored a goal earlier could we then apply more pressure, and then of course the manner we conceded the goals."

Of their opening 12 Championship games, 11 have ended in draws or been decided by a single goal.

Pack added: "The challenge for us is to turn those tight games and fine margins into points, whether that's draws or wins.

"I don't think we are too negative in the group but we are a little bit disappointed, because we have been in games.

"Weirdly, last season, when you get beat comprehensively, which we did at times, it's a little bit easier to take - you can hold your hands up and say 'they're better than us.'

"We're not a million miles away. It's about putting it all together in one complete performance.

"We've had halves, we've had moments, we've had spells, but we probably haven't had a clear dominant performance yet this season."

After missing the start of the season with a knee injury, 34-year-old Pack has now started the past five games and said: "The knee is good. I'm very pleased to be back in the side.

"I want to play. It's down to me to keep hold of my shirt. The way we're looking to play suits me. I had to break my way into the team this year.

"The results have been disappointing but I feel I've been consistent enough."

Listen to the full interview with Pack and more Portsmouth content on BBC Sounds.

Birmingham City will look to regain their dominant home form as they host Portsmouth on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Blues saw their impressive 29 match undefeated run at St Andrew's come to an end during their last home match but will be hoping to bounce back immediately with a jubilant victory.

While Pompey are looking for a first victory in four matches, having lost both their last two to see them drifting closer to the bottom three.

• This will be the first league meeting between Birmingham City and Portsmouth since March 2012, a 4-1 victory for Pompey in the Championship.

• Portsmouth have won just one of their last 11 away league games against Birmingham City (D3 L7), a 2-0 victory at St Andrew's in November 2007 in the Premier League.

• A defeat to Hull City ended Birmingham's 29 game unbeaten run at home in the league last time out (W23 D6), as they now look to avoid successive defeats at St Andrew's for the first time since March 2024.

• After losing to Coventry City and Stoke City in their last two matches, Portsmouth will be looking to avoid three league losses in a row for the first time since September 2024.

• This season in the Championship, no player has amassed a bigger xG total without scoring than Birmingham's Kyogo Furuhashi (2.8) – he has now gone 17 league games without scoring since leaving Celtic in January 2025, after netting nine times across his final 17 Scottish Premiership outings.

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho has confirmed that winger Josh Murphy is fit to start Saturday's away game against Birmingham City (15:00 BST).

The 30-year-old missed six league games with an ankle injury but did feature from the bench in their 1-0 loss to Stoke City.

Forward Harvey Blair is participating in training but is not being rushed back, while summer signing Franco Umeh is unlikely to make his first appearance for the side any time soon.

The winger joined from Crystal Palace in September but was already nursing a hamstring issue from pre-season training with the Premier League side.

"We signed Franco when he did have an injury, but that's the trade-off to get one of the brightest young talents in the Under-21s programme," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"We are, unfortunately, not going be able to get the finished article that's ready for first-team football at a higher level. We've taken that risk, we are fully aware of it and I'm just laying that down to demonstrate that it's going to take a while."

Murphy's reintroduction to the starting line-up would be widely welcomed, with striker Callum Lang also sidelined with a hamstring issue.

"If you look at that profile of player in terms of the pace and power at the top end of the pitch that those four [Murphy, Lang, Blair and Umeh] give us, we've had to shuffle the deck a bit," Mousinho added.

"I do think it will make a difference when we have different profiles at the top of the pitch. I think that's where we've been struggling this season."

Listen to the full interview with Mousinho and more Portsmouth content on BBC Sounds.

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent's Portsmouth commentator

Image source, Getty Images

Just over a month ago Portsmouth hosted struggling Sheffield Wednesday knowing a win would take them into the Championship play-offs.

Instead Pompey put in a really poor showing and have now won only once in eight matches, taking just six points from that run. So what has gone wrong?

It is worth noting a bit of perspective.

A year ago Pompey were rooted to the bottom of the Championship table having struggled to make the jump up to the second tier.

They went on to stay up easily, their current predicament is nowhere near as serious.

Staying up remains the key objective, a comfortable mid-table existence would be a very good season, anything beyond that is exceptional.

It feels like there are questions over a number of areas of the team at the moment, perhaps most notably up front.

Colby Bishop is currently on his longest goal drought at the club and has not even had an opportunity in the past few games.

Who should play behind Bishop? Clearly that is Conor Chaplin's preferred position, he has been used on the right in recent weeks but has not found his top form even when playing centrally.

Right-wing is a problem position, Adrian Segecic had some bright moments there but no one has stepped up to will the void left by Matt Ritchie's departure, there is not an obvious solution.

Defensively, Conor Shaughnessy's absence is a blow and Josh Knight deputised well for a few games before being left out for Hayden Matthews at the weekend.

Unfortunately for Matthews he scored the games only goal in the wrong net.

It's not all been bad though, Regan Poole and Connor Ogilvie continue to be solid in defence and there are three decent options at right-back.

Marlon Pack and Andre Dozzell are performing well in midfield, Joe Bursik has done an excellent job filling in for Nico Schmid in goal and it is no certainty that the Austrian regains his place when he's fit again.

It certainly hasn't helped missing Josh Murphy for a month with an ankle injury. He is Pompey's best player, one of the Championship's standout wingers and his return will make a difference.

John Mousinho is approaching three years in charge at Portsmouth and he has overcome much bigger challenges than this one.

You would be surprised if he does not find a way around his current conundrum.

"It is getting a little concerning. I think the first half against Stoke was as bad as Pompey have played all season. It was a game of quite a few negatives and not many positives.

"Conor Chaplin is suddenly being asked to play on the right, John Mousinho said he wants him to be a right-sided No10... it's not working.

"I'm always interested when stories emerge of potential interest very close to a new contract being signed. The fog of war has not lifted on the non-transfer saga of Josh Murphy."

The Portsmouth News' Neil Allen joins Chris Wise and Andrew Moon mull over Pompey's defeat to Stoke, among other topics.

The trio try and work out how to get the best out of Conor Chaplin and Colby Bishop and discuss just how close Josh Murphy really was to leaving Pompey in the summer transfer window.

Of course, there's also your questions answered in Moon's Musings.

Tom Chappell
Fan Writer from Fournilwrittenalloverit

Image source, Getty Images

Everything felt a little bit undercooked at Fratton Park on Saturday. Pre-game build-up, a crowd largely unmoved throughout, performance on the pitch, and the ultimate result.

The majority of the afternoon was pretty bereft of action and rather dull. There were signs of energy from the beginning of the second half, during which we were the better side for the only period of the game following a very forgettable first 45.

We had a real lack of control, particularly in central areas. Defensively, we did not look assured at all, even putting the rather unfortunate own goal aside.

It was also one of those days where Pompey could have been playing until Christmas and still not have scored.

Perhaps a dreary 0-0 would've been a more befitting scoreline, but Pompey's at times apathetic showing certainly didn't look worthy of any more than a point at a push.

Josh Murphy's return is unbelievably welcome, he makes the team so much more offensively threatening and will in turn hopefully help put Colby Bishop's barren run in front of goal to an end.

Pompey need to properly turn up in Birmingham this weekend. Our start to the campaign at home is now worryingly poor, particularly given that Fratton Park provided a cornerstone to our survival last season.

There's also a bit of a restlessness within the fanbase that John Mousinho's side have seemingly abandoned the style in which we so brilliantly mastered our home form last year - where very few sides would come away with anything from PO4.

It is bizarre to say but right now it's probably a positive that we only have three home games between now and the start of December. It wasn't too long ago that you'd fancy us against anyone on home soil.

John Swift's late leveller at Leicester feels like quite some time ago.

The likes of Callum Lang, Nico Schmid, Conor Shaughnessy and now Adrian Segecic will all return in time, and there's no doubt in my mind regarding our divisional status for another season at the moment.

But, with an out-of-position Conor Chaplin, and an out-of-form Bishop, Pompey are slowly sleepwalking into a bit of trouble.

Find more from Tom at the Fournilwrittenalloverit, external, external YouTube channel

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent commentator

Image source, PA Media

This was a frustrating defeat for Portsmouth. The first half was as poor as they've been all season.

Having got to half-time at 0-0 though they should not have gone on to lose the game.

Makenzie Kirk showed some bright moments on his full debut but crucially couldn't convert Josh Murphy's brilliant left-wing cross. Minutes later Stoke scored and that brief period ultimately settled the match.

There are now a number of question marks over the team - who should play, and where.

Hayden Matthews came in for Josh Knight but looked rusty and struggled. Conor Chaplin hasn't made an impact on the right which clearly isn't his best position. However he wasn't able to affect the game as he'd have liked when playing centrally. Colby Bishop is battling hard but not providing a goal threat at present. He needs better service.

Ten goals scored in 12 matches isn't enough. Only Sheffield United have score fewer.

Josh Murphy was only fit enough to play the final quarter of the match but he is at least back. He is Pompey's best player and is return now is extremely welcome.

Portsmouth winger Josh Murphy is glad to see the back of a "frustrating" and "stressful" time after returning from injury.

Murphy, who could have left the club in the summer, came off the bench in the 1-0 defeat against Stoke City, having not played mid-September.

He told BBC Radio Solent it was "great" to get on the pitch again.

"It's always frustrating to be on the sidelines," the 30-year-old explained

"I'm happy I'm back. I want to build some momentum and hopefully get some goals and assists for the team."

Murphy had not played since re-injuring his left ankle in the 0-0 derby draw against Southampton on 14 September

He sprained his left ankle in the build-up to the game and then felt it flare up again after just three minutes. Fluid around the tendons has since affected his ability to turn.

"The Southampton game was painful to play in", he added. "I tried to fight through the pain and probably made it worse.

"It's been a long rehab to try to get it better but I'm ready to crack on.

"I don't think any player is ever 100%, but I feel lot better than I did six weeks ago and feel my body is ready - so I just need to get my match sharpness."

And Murphy is thrilled his career is back on track with Pompey, having been heavily linked with a move away this summer - a period he described as "stressful".

"I didn't know whether I was coming or going," he added. "But it's done now. I still have big aspirations in my career and the club do as well, so I feel like everything is aligned.

"There is always speculation. That happens with every transfer window with every team, but I'm a Portsmouth player."

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho felt his team did enough to win the game in the second half as they lost at home to Stoke City.

Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent: "The first half was poor. We took 45 minutes to get going, but it was a much-improved performance in the second half, when we were by far the better side but didn't put the ball in the back of the net.

"It was a poor piece of defending to concede the goal and after that we didn't make good enough decisions and stopped doing the things that had made us a good side in the second half.

"With the level of performance and the amount of chances we created, we definitely should have won the game."

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho says his side are not where they envisaged they would be at the start of the campaign.

Pompey sit 17th in the Championship and have only managed three wins so far, suffering a 2-1 defeat by table-toppers Coventry City on Tuesday.

Mousinho hopes to welcome back Callum Lang and Josh Murphy for the visit of Stoke City on Saturday (12:30 BST), but Adrian Segecic will not make it.

"Callum is progressing nicely, he's still on time," he told BBC Radio Solent.

"Adrian Segecic would have undoubtably been in for selection on Saturday, it would have been a good time for him to come back, we've sent him for an MRI.

"Josh Murphy will be in contention for the bench but not to start the game."

Mousinho is expecting a tough encounter against Stoke, who lie sixth, seven points off the top.

"They have had a very good start to the season, they're extremely solid defensively," he added.

"They've added a couple of players, particularly Sorba Thomas and Divin Mubama.

"It gives them real physicality and strength, they've added to a squad that was already pretty strong in my opinion."

Listen to the full interview and more on BBC Sounds.

"Portsmouth were not able to stop Coventry from playing the game they wanted to play."

Former Portsmouth striker and manager Guy Whittingham joined BBC Radio Solent's Chris Wise and Andy Moon to reflect on their 2-1 loss against Coventry City, as well as pay tribute to former midfielder Joe Morrell, who has been forced to retire at the age of 28.

Portsmouth striker Makenzie Kirk says the club have shown they "can compete" with the top sides in the division, despite suffering a 2-1 defeat against Coventry City.

Kirk opened his Portsmouth account with a stoppage time goal, but could not stop his side falling to a first home defeat since the 2-0 loss to Sheffield Wednesday back in September.

"I was happy enough to score my goal. It wasn't the result we wanted tonight, but the boys put in everything they could.

"I think over the last few weeks the lads have shown that we can compete against these big sides in the league and take points away from them.

The Northern Ireland Under-21 international joined the club from Scottish side St Johnstone in the summer, on a three-year deal.

"I have really enjoyed my time so far. I am really enjoying the training, the games are brilliant, the atmosphere is fantastic and the fans are second to none, I have never experienced anything like it.

"For me there is no pressure as a young player at the moment, as the boss has touched on, it is just about if an opportunity does come, I am ready for it."

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho says his side were "not good enough defensively" in their 2-1 defeat to Coventry at Fratton Park.

A Brandon Thomas-Asante brace either side of half-time subjected Pompey to their first league defeat in three games.

"It is obviously a disappointing result for us. I think it is a fair result overall as we didn't quite get going in the early parts of the first-half, however we settled into the game okay after that.

"The most frustrating thing is the manner of the goals. If Coventry tear you apart with good, attacking and fast play then that's one thing and I am not saying they didn't, however one of the goals came from a long throw that went out from a corner and we concede from that, which is a poor way to concede.

"The second goal is also just not good enough from us defensively, but we huffed and puffed, and we got ourselves back into the game, it was just too little to late.

"We need to take care of ourselves and the the ball a little more in the final third, because we did have chances to test the goalkeeper and we didn't do it.

"There was probably a few too many routine saves from really good opportunities.

"Ultimately we had 90 seconds in the back end to try and score and we should have maybe had 15 or 20 minutes."

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent commentator

Image source, Rex Features

There's no shame in losing to Coventry who were by far and away the best side Portsmouth have faced this season, however Pompey weren't forced to be at their best in this one.

Yes Portsmouth should have had an early penalty. Strange to hear referee Gavin Ward pull the old Arsene Wenger line "I didn't see it" when quizzed about it by John Mousinho.

That would have changed the match but Coventry would still have fancied their chances. They simply had so much quality and significant pace and power all over the pitch.

So far, this week has showed that when expensively-assembled sides aren't quite at it (like Leicester) then Pompey can cause them plenty of problems, but they have to be near their best to do so. They weren't against Coventry.

Adrian Segecic was devastated when he came off with a potentially serious ankle injury and left the ground on crutches. He's been one of the brightest sparks so far this season and losing him for a long period would be a huge blow.

Yang Min-hyeok was quiet against Coventry after an impressive run of performances.

There would never be a bad time for Josh Murphy to return. Even if he can play some part against Stoke, it could make a difference.

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent commentator

Image source, Getty Images

This news that Joe Morrell has retired at the age of 28 comes as a big surprise.

Earlier this summer there had been initial interest from both Reading and Plymouth in signing him and Morrell had said himself he was ready to return.

But ultimately his troublesome knee that has prevented him playing since Portsmouth's 2-2 draw at Oxford United in January 2024 has ended his career.

It's been quite a journey, going from not being able to get a game with Margate to impressing at the European Championship and playing in a World Cup.

Always interesting to listen to, he was popular in both the dressing room and amongst supporters for his whole hearted committed performances.