'You need to live in this great city to truly understand it'
Not one to crave a low-key presence, John Mousinho accepts daily Southsea walks with Wendy, his Toy Poodle, may attract a little attention.
Yet these days his regular route is often greeted with playful chants of “Who needs Mourinho?” from buoyant supporters as the feelgood factor sweeps across the waterfront city.
It’s the price the 37-year-old must pay for taking Pompey into the Championship - and insisting on living in the city where he has spent the last 15 months as head coach.
Mousinho and his family switched from their Berkshire home to Southsea after landing the Pompey job in January 2023, eager to become part of the community he serves.
They have subsequently embraced life on the south coast, with their two young children attending local schools, while the Blues boss works Fratton Park miracles.
And Mousinho revels living on Portsea Island, irrespective of finding himself ‘serenaded’ while walking his dog.
He told The News: ‘I’d like to think I speak to fans whenever I can. They come up for conversations on the street, which happened quite a bit in the build-up to Bolton.
‘They were serenading me with the “Who needs Mourinho” song while around Southsea, which was interesting!
‘I was walking the dog and usually go through Palmerston Road and on the seafront front. It’s not a problem, there’s no secret where I go. I have a coffee in the morning and do my shopping - and people come up for a chat.
‘When I first interviewed for the job, I was asked what I’d do geographically. It was an absolute no-brainer for me, I wanted to live down here.
‘It’s for a couple of reasons. Number one, it’s far too much to be sat in my car for 3-4 hours every day, particularly with the way my job goes.
‘I’m not on the phone a huge amount, I don’t speak to agents, I don’t speak to football clubs. I spend a lot of my time on the laptop looking at opposition and a lot of time preparing for coaching sessions, which I need to be out of my car for.
‘The second thing was it’s really important that somebody who purports to represent everyone in the city actually lives here and understands what it’s like to be a Pompey fan.
‘As soon as you come down, you feel how big the football club is, how big the university and the Navy are. Living here has helped massively with that.
‘It was really important to bring my family down here and relocate, go all-in, make sure we gave ourselves