John Mousinho thanks Pompey fans for incredible support as he looks back on key moments in the season

John Mousinho, fresh from lifting the League One trophy in front of thousands of Pompey fans on Southsea Common, highlighted how the support from the fans kept his team going during the tricky points of the season. While all eyes now look ahead to next season and preparing for the return to the Championship, the Pompey boss had a chance to look back on the season and its key moments.

Mousinho said: “It’s been amazing. The whole season has been incredible, from the first game where we got the late equaliser against Bristol Rovers, we never really looked back.”

Off the pitch there was one game that stood out in particular. He said: “We had a tough period around Christmas where everybody stuck with us. The game that really sticks in my mind is when we lost 4-0 at home against Blackpool because the fans just kept going.

“They had a really interesting song about being four nil down which we absolutely loved. That sort of spirit has kept us going throughout. You can’t achieve anything just as a team, or as a set of fans, you have to do it together.”

There were many memorable games throughout the season, none more so than the promotion and title clinching victory at home to Barnsley on April 16 that sparked wild celebrations. Away from that match, Mousinho picked out two games where he saw what this team could go on to achieve.

Mousinho said: “The Barnsley game away from home (September 19), we had an easy-ish August on paper but we hadn't taken a huge amount of points. September looked extremely tough, we went into it with a draw at Derby and then blew Barnsley away scoring three goals. The other game is when we beat Peterborough away (March 16), I thought ok, we really have arrived and this is our season, our chance to actually win the league.”

Arguably, the team and its supporters have never been closer following an epic season which ended a 12 year wait for Championship football. The Pompey boss wanted to thank fans for their support throughout the season. He said: “Thank you to the fans. I know what it takes to support a football club, it’s a costly exercise, it’s a heart wrenching exercise. It’s not easy being a supporter of any football club let alone Portsmouth, they have been great and we hope they have enjoyed themselves.”