Relentless Portsmouth boss sets new challenge as remarkable champions bid to rewrite record books

It’s mission accomplished for League One title-winning Pompey - but not for John Mousinho.

The Blues boss wants more from this remarkable season and is targeting the magical 100-point mark as a fitting finale.

Indeed, that would also represent Pompey club-record points tally for a Football League campaign, beating the 98 points from 2002-03.

Currently on 94 points with two matches remaining, there’s no room for error, with victories required against Wigan on Saturday and then the trip to Lincoln (April 27) on the last day.

Mousinho is challenged to motivate a group of players who have already accomplished their primary goal and have subsequently enjoyed themselves after being granted Wednesday and Thursday off.

It’s back to training on Friday in preparation for the Fratton Park visit of Wigan, a fixture which will see the champions afterwards presented with the League One trophy.

And the Blues’ head coach has no intention of easing up over the final two matches.

Mousinho told The News: ‘We have to get back on it on Friday, we need to start preparing for Wigan.

‘The players had an extra day off this week and we must now try to get as physically and mentally prepared as we can for the game. Wigan are a really decent side and we have to make sure we finish this season on a high, especially at Fratton Park.

‘It would be nice to finish on 100 points if we possibly can. The first target was promotion, then, when it was a possibility, talk was about what it takes to win the league. We achieved both.

‘It’s going to be a difficult task. We face Wigan and then a Lincoln side fighting for a play-off position - but this side is more than capable of it and we should definitely aim for that.

‘It should help that we have that potential achievement. In a strange way, if we were on 92 points maybe it’s a bit more difficult to motivate the boys. However, being on 94 with six points to play for can become a very, very special thing.

‘Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been thinking about what it would be like if we got promoted and my message to the boys was there's a difference between promotion and being promoted as champions.

‘To be able to say you were champions of the league is something to savour in your career. Now it’s about making that step from being champions to possibly saying you’ve earned 100 points in the league.

‘If we manage to do it, brilliant. If not then it obviously isn’t going to take away anything we’ve achieved this season. Yet we still have motivation, we want those 100 points.’

It was two points for a win before 1981, yet when previous Pompey campaigns are readjusted to reflect the change of three points for a victory, this is their second-highest seasonal points haul since joining the Football League in 1920.

Meanwhile, Pompey’s players have clearly revelled in their promotion party, with those Tuesday night scenes at O’Neill’s and Drift followed by the club’s End Of Season Dinner in the Victory Lounge on Wednesday evening.

And Mousinho has given them his full blessing.

He added: ‘Last year Colby Bishop was the main positive of an otherwise mediocre season where I thought we were the eighth-best team in the league and finished eighth. We weren't good enough to be in the top six and compete with the biggest sides. 

‘So I’ve been saying to the lads to make sure they savour the achievements this season - and enjoy it with a lot of people that have supported us.’