Portsmouth manager's blunt Leeds United admission as pre-season 'concern' addressed ahead of Championship clash

Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho isn’t overly concerned with a below-par pre-season but insists his side must be at ‘full tilt’ when they face Leeds United on Saturday.

Pompey have waited 11 years for the return of Championship football and kick their campaign off in the toughest way possible, with a trip to Elland Road to face last season’s defeated play-off finalists. Leeds racked up an incredible 90 points over the campaign and after a solid transfer window and impressive pre-season - four wins from four - are strong favourites to claim the title.

Pre-season has not been so encouraging for Pompey, who after beating a trio of non-league sides have failed to win against three teams from League One, most recently losing 2-0 at Charlton Athletic over the weekend. The performances have raised concern among supporters going into Saturday’s season opener and Mousinho admits his side need to get going before making the long trip north to West Yorkshire.

“We have learnt we can’t afford to go into games half at it and can’t even afford to go into games at 90 per cent, we have to be at full tilt,” Mousinho told The News. “We have now been punished by three sides at levels below us and we’re going into a game on Saturday against one of the top teams in the league. We have to make sure lessons have been learnt and that we’re at full tilt going into the match.

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“I am not concerned (by the pre-season results). The results I really don’t care about, results are results. It will be nice to get into winning habits, but it honestly doesn’t really matter. We went into last season off the back of two losses and I don’t think it affected our form early in the season.

“We have to make sure the performances are better. The biggest thing to take out of the pre-season games is yes we’ve got our fitness in there, but performances do need to be better. We have a week’s worth of training, we’ve got plenty to work upon, and we have to knuckle down.”

Portsmouth have been boosted by the signing of midfielder Andre Dozzell, who left Queens Park Rangers as a free agent earlier this summer and went on a brief trial with Sheffield United. The 25-year-old signed a one-year deal on Monday and could be involved at Elland Road, adding some much-needed Championship experience to the second-tier new-boys.

The visiting side could be without star winger Josh Murphy, however, after he suffered a knock over the weekend, with Tom McIntyre and new signing Jacob Farrell both doubts after picking up minor issues over the past couple of weeks. Last season’s top goalscorer, Colby Bishop, will certainly be unavailable after pre-season medical checks picked up a heart issue that will require immediate surgery.