Portsmouth boss pinpoints the unsung heroes behind the Blues' remarkable League One title success

They’re the unsung heroes of Pompey’s title success - and John Mousinho believes now is time for deserved recognition.

The Blues’ head coach has been crowned the EFL Manager of the Season for League One, as well as receiving two Sky Bet monthly awards along the way.

However, he has paid tribute to the driving force behind this season’s promotion glory - his backroom team.

Assistant coach Jon Harley, first-team development coach Zesh Rehman and goalkeeping coach Joe Prodomo may be familiar faces to the Fratton faithful through their touchline presence on match-days.

Yet Mousinho is also keen to highlight the excellent work of the others who have been integral in the return to the Championship after 12 years away.

He told The News: ‘Whenever you win those manager awards, you’ll hear the winner say the same thing. It sounds a bit cliched but it’s just exactly what it is, you can’t achieve anything on your own - and I certainly couldn’t.

‘With my limited time, I focus on certain things and a lot of it’s team selection and tactics, so the coaching staff around me are hugely important.

‘I was lucky enough to inherit Zesh Rehman, Dan Ashby and Joe Prodomo, who we have obviously kept for the right reasons because they’ve been doing an absolutely brilliant job.

‘Joe does a dual role as goalkeeping coach and set-piece coach, while Dan is an analyst who worked on his own last season without any help and we brought in Edidie Denton from Oxford in the summer to help.

‘Bringing Jon Harley in was one of the most important things we did, we wanted to take our time with that appointment. Jon is an absolute breath of fresh air, he and Zesh complement each other really, really well.

‘Jon does a huge amount of coaching and technical work, while Zesh does a lot with the individual development of players and is behind some of the strides you’ve seen with the players this year.

‘You've also got the likes of Shaun North who, even though he’s our kitman, does quite a bit of coaching with us. He’s a wise head in a young coaching staff.

‘The team underneath that are unpaid interns who do a lot of work on the analysis and statistical side. We have very, very detailed pre and post-match reports which we rely heavily on.

‘I haven't even spoken about medical and sports science either, mainly because those departments work brilliantly well. I listen to Steve Hard and Matt Best and take whatever they say as gospel, they’ve had a good old chunk of work to do this year with all of the injuries!

‘For strength and conditioning, Max Whittingham has stepped up from the Academy and was largely on his own until George Bell came in during December.

‘Our lads have been really fit all season - and you don’t win games in the last minute without the lads being fit.

‘If I missed anyone I apologise, but it just goes to show that all these different people are the moving parts which it takes to achieve anything.’

Mousinho, of course, believes credit should also go to Rich Hughes, the sporting director who oversaw his January 2023 appointment and recruitment for the champions.

And the pair have worked closely in bringing success to Fratton Park this season.

Mousinho added: ‘It can actually sometimes feel a lonely place as a manager or head coach, but when you have that support around you it’s massively beneficial.

‘When we lost 4-0 at home to Blackpool in December, Rich Hughes gave me a big hug and said there was nothing to worry about, which I really appreciated.