Pompey travelled to Cobham and defeated the Premier League side last Saturday. John Mousinho assesses the win and new-look international break’s impact on his team.
John Mousinho is hopeful Pompey’s behind-closed-doors victory over Chelsea capped a new-look international break which has readied his men for a busy Championship return.
And the Blues boss revealed the three-week league hiatus included an intense ‘pre-season’ week of training where his players were put through the physical wringer, culminating in their success over the Premier League side.
Pompey on Chelsea behind-closed-doors game: ‘The players went away, but we still had a decent enough squad to compete’
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Pompey picked up a 2-0 win over Chelsea today. Pic: Gettyplaceholder image
Pompey picked up a 2-0 win over Chelsea today. Pic: Getty | AFP via Getty Images
Mousinho’s men travelled to Cobham and grabbed a 2-0 success over Xabi Alonso’s side, which contained a number of the Londoner’s Premier League regulars.
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Pompey were without the six players they had away on international duty, but the 40-year-old suggested the team who beat Chelsea was a fairly strong one from his club’s view.
Mousinho said: ‘Fitness for us was a big thing through the break.
‘So we wanted to try to maintain fitness through the group as much as possible.
‘You can never replicate that properly, but we tried to replicate that as much as we could through training and anything behind closed doors.
‘Everything we did through the break from our view was with the players we had available.
‘We tried over the past couple of weeks to get the balance between not nursing players back too slowly and also giving players a bit of a rest.
‘We feel we haven’t missed out a huge amount over the break.
‘The players went away, but we still had a decent enough squad to compete (in the behind-closed-doors game). Everything else has been in-house.’
Pompey’s trip to Southampton marks the start of a frantic period of five games in the space of 13 days, culminating in Millwall’s lunchtime visit on October 24.
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The challenge across this period for the Blues was to be as ready as they could be for that challenge.
When asked if he feels his players are prepared for the next run of games, Mousinho said: ‘We’ll see.
‘What do you do? Do you have time off at the beginning and come back and train hard, as we’ve done.
‘We’ve had two full weeks of training and in the build-up to the game this weekend, we’ve tapered off slightly.
‘The week before was properly hard. It was like a pre-season week for the boys.
‘That’s what we felt we needed, to get numbers in with lads coming back and lads who needed that fitness.
‘Let’s see. Any decision we make, we make it with the best of intentions - so we hope it works out.’