Portsmouth Football Club are delighted to confirm the appointment of John Mousinho as head coach on a long-term contract.
The 36-year-old has left his position as player/coach at fellow League One side Oxford United to move to Fratton Park.
Mousinho said: “I’m delighted to be appointed Pompey head coach and am excited to get started in the role.
"I want our team to play on the front foot, with aggressive and attacking football that will win games and entertain the fans."
“The club and I are share similar ambitions and we’re focused on delivering the short and long-term success that the supporters here deserve.
“After meeting with Andrew Cullen and Richard Hughes, I really bought into the process and am pleased that the club have also bought into me, giving me this fantastic opportunity.
“I want our team to play on the front foot, with aggressive and attacking football that will win games and entertain the fans.”
Pompey chief executive Andrew Cullen said: “We are delighted to welcome John Mousinho as our new head coach.
“Following a thorough process, where we spoke with a number of people, John was the standout candidate. After meeting him and conducting our interviews, we were able to conclude the search and offer John the opportunity to coach this great football club.”
Chairman Michael D. Eisner said: “I support the management’s decision and always encourage looking for talent that is ready for the next level. John Mousinho is positioned to succeed.”
Cullen continued: “John possesses real leadership and motivational skills – evidenced by his position as captain at a number of clubs and election as PFA chairman.
“A UEFA Pro Licence holder, he has a clear vision and an identity he wants to bring to Pompey and is comfortable working with Rich Hughes within the new football structure that has been put in place to deliver our short, medium and long-term goals.
“I am a firm believer that to achieve success, you must possess an openminded approach. By simply doing the same things again and again, we only reduce the prospect of propelling the club forward.
“That is why our head coach search embodied speaking to a wide and diverse range of candidates and why we also now have a sporting director to deliver progress across all our football operations.
"We firmly believe John has all the credentials to bring success to Portsmouth Football Club."
“There has been much success achieved by new head coaches and managers given maiden opportunities at several clubs over the past three years and we firmly believe John has all the credentials to bring success to Portsmouth Football Club.
“I hope everyone will give John the incredible Pompey support and encouragement, both tomorrow and beyond. With that, John will be in an excellent position to deliver the long overdue success that we all want to see.
“I will be forever grateful to Simon Bassey and Lorenzo Dolcetti who have now departed and we would like to thank them both for their service to the club, particularly over the past few weeks.”
Pompey sporting director Richard Hughes said: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to work with John. He’s a natural leader and his personality really shone through when we met with him.
"I look forward to working closely with John, Andy and the rest of the football club to work towards bringing success – both in the short-term and for our longer-term vision."
“He has a real clarity on the way he wants to play and displayed the characteristics we had identified during our process. It’s a pleasure to welcome him to Fratton Park.
“I look forward to working closely with John, Andy and the rest of the football club to work towards bringing success – both in the short-term and for our longer-term vision.”
Pompey are in the process of appointing an experienced coaching team to support Mousinho and he will be supported on Saturday by lead professional development phase coach Zesh Rehman and goalkeeping coach Joe Prodomo.
After studying at the University of Notre Dame in America, Mousinho began his professional football career under former Pompey midfielder Martin Allen at Brentford.
He went on to appear for Wycombe, Stevenage, Preston and Burton before signing for Oxford in 2017.
Mousinho made more than 150 appearances for United and also took up a coaching role with the club in recent years.
He was elected as chairman of the Professional Footballers’ Association players’ board in May 2021, but will soon be standing down from that position to fully focus on his new role.
