Former Preston North End skipper John Mousinho is set to take his first managerial role as he closes in on the Portsmouth job.
Many of us will remember the wild summer of 2012 as PNE completely overhauled their squad under Graham Westley.
North End’s squad was ripped apart as Westley brought in 18 – yes, 18 – permanent signings over the summer transfer window.
Four of them came from Stevenage, the club PNE had raided to land Westley in January of 2012.
Left back Scott Laird, midfielder Joel Byrom and striker Chris Beardsley all followed Westley to PNE and so did midfielder Mousinho.
Laird was possibly the most exciting of the lot but Mousinho wasn’t far behind having excelled for Stevenage.
Mousinho had built up a reputation as an athletic box-to-box midfielder who could break forward to score goals and put his foot in for tackles.
Westley named Mousinho as PNE captain in 2012 and many were expecting big things – but Mousinho’s time at PNE was pretty miserable.
Mousinho played just 32 times for PNE and after loans to Gillingham and back at Stevenage, he was let go under Simon Grayson in 2014.
Burton Albion signed Mousinho and after 127 appearances for the Brewers, he has been a fixture at Oxford United since a 2017 move.
Now a player-coach at Oxford – and more of a defender than a midfielder at 36 – Mousinho is set for an exciting first step into management.
Portsmouth News reporter Neil Allen has taken to Twitter this afternoon to report that Mousinho is set to become Portsmouth’s new head coach.
Pompey recently sacked Danny Cowley and despite interviews with highly-rated coaches Liam Manning and Ian Foster, Mousinho will be the new man at Fratton Park.
That’s a major show of faith from Portsmouth, given that Mourinho has no managerial experience and Pompey are in danger of being dragged into a relegation battle.
Mousinho will now manage former PNE defender Joe Rafferty on the South Coast and he will be looking to prove himself as a promising, up-and-coming manager.