We get a lot of questions for our weekly Portsmouth podcast “Who Needs Mourinho?” about what needs to be done in January.
Clearly squad improvements will be required. However, there are 13 matches before any new additions could play – the solutions will have to come from within for now.
The two other promoted sides from last season, Derby and Oxford, have both made solid starts to the season.
Both could get sucked into a relegation battle but, from the outside, appear to have adapted well to life in the Championship.
Portsmouth finished 20 points better off than Oxford last season and signed one of their best players in the summer. Pompey are now 10 places worse off in the table.
John Mousinho could not have had a much better first 18 months in management. He remains the bright, promising coach he was last season.
He’s smart enough to know there were always going to be tough times ahead. Keeping Pompey in the Championship from here would eclipse last season’s title-winning achievements.
The owners will certainly give him time. It would be crazy to sack him but that doesn’t mean he isn’t blameless for the current predicament.
Pompey fans will travel over 850 miles to attend both away games next week, at Hull and Plymouth. Many will do so more in hope than expectation.
Things can change very quickly in football – and Portsmouth need a change in fortunes pretty much immediately.
