Is there significance to Pompey moving back to top spot after being knocked off their perch by Bolton? The Blues boss is clear on what it means ahead of the Sky Sports clash.
John Mousinho lauded the character of his Pompey troops for barging their way back to League One’s summit ahead of the Bolton battle.
And the Blues boss refused to downplay the significance of his team bouncing back with two away victories to reclaim their berth at the top, after being toppled by their promotion rivals last weekend.
Mousinho’s men flexed their muscle at Northampton, with a dominant 3-0 victory against upwardly mobile opposition in sub-zero temperatures.
That made it 16 league away league games without defeat for the Pompey road warriors, with back-to-back maximums on their travels after the Burton Albion success.
Mousinho made no bones about the fact losing their perch at the top of the table hurt, after their club-record 27-game unbeaten run ended against Blackpool last weekend.
So he wasn’t hiding what it meant to take back that spot, with the mouth-watering clash with Ian Evatt’s men up next.
‘It’s a huge positive factor,’ Mousinho added. Going as long as we have and then falling behind last Saturday is a tough pill to swallow, I believe.
‘It’s a tough one in a good sense; we want the boys to feel that disappointment,’ says the coach. We also want them to bounce back and hold on to what they have right now.
‘They are league leaders. They deserve it based on that performance, and they deserve it based on the 19 games they’ve played.’
Mousinho made it plain that his team will enjoy their improved position in the following days, but there was no avoiding what was to come in the form of a serious challenge from Ian Evatt’s powerful Trotters side.
‘It’ll be wonderful to reflect back on that in the coming days, but what we’ve got next is a really tough game against Bolton a week Monday – we’ve now got to be properly prepared for that,’ he added.
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