Portsmouth face Leeds United at Elland Road in their Championship opener next month as they prepare to return to English football’s second tier for the first time in 12 years. John Mousinho insists Portsmouth will “attack every game” in the Championship next season, beginning with Leeds United. Pompey will go to Elland Road on August 10 for their first encounter back in the second division of English football in 12 years, having won League One the previous season.
Head coach Mousinho, who led Portsmouth to promotion in his first full year, stated, “The way we will approach it is to attack every game.” I want us to enjoy it; these are fantastic games that are huge for us. but we’re not going to be daunted by it. “We’re going to make sure we take the chance to prove ourselves at this level.” Pompey have been handed a daunting start to the campaign. As well as taking on last year’s play-off finalists United, Mousinho’s side face all three sides relegated from the Premier League before the end of September. “The standard will go up,” acknowledged Mousinho, who has taken his side and staff to Croatia for a warm-weather training camp. “I don’t think you get away with mistakes at this level, you have to be at the top of your game for every minute.
“But this is where we want to be, we don’t want to be In a league where you can get away with little things, It’ll be a difficult step up but one we’re really looking forward to.”
Portsmouth have had a busy start to the transfer window, with Mousinho signing five new players. Mousinho thinks there are “plenty of irons in the fire” as he attempts to bring in more reinforcements before the big game. “We’re not going to rush anything,” he told me. “We could have signed ten players a month ago, but that is what we want to do today.
“We want to make sure we get the proper guys in, which sometimes requires patience. You have
Waiting for things to develop between clubs, players, and agents can take some time.
“I just feel really confident that we’re moving in the right path, that we’ve got everything in the proper place, and that we’re really careful about how we do things. I’m quite delighted with where we’re at.”
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