'I deleted Twitter when I became Portsmouth boss - I knew the reaction I'd get': John Mousinho on winning over a city

John Mousinho swiftly deleted his Twitter account after being informed of his Pompey appointment - a storm was brewing.

It was January 2023 and football was about to learn the surprise identity of the struggling Blues’ head coach.

Inevitably, the subsequent social media reaction was largely unfavourable, with Mousinho widely perceived as an underwhelming choice, many branding it a selection based on a ‘cheap option’.

Others predicted relegation to League Two for 15th-placed Pompey, with one Twitter poll declaring 46 per cent of supporters believed they would now fail to stay up.

Mousinho, of course, was largely oblivious, having the foresight to avoid the anticipated backlash by coming off social media shortly before his official unveiling.

Last week - 15 months later - the Blues were crowned League One champions with two matches to spare.

Mousinho told The News: ‘I deleted my Twitter account when I knew I had the job, before it was officially announced. It was the right thing to get my focus 100 per cent on football.

‘Previously as a player, I’d use social media to follow things more than anything else. I didn’t post much, just looked at everything else going on.

‘It was the right time to come off it. I just thought about the dangers of looking at responses, whether positive or negative. I’m sure if I went back on social media now it would be a different picture, but I don’t think it’s the right thing to do, I don’t think it’s particularly healthy.

‘As a club, we thought the most important thing was to come out and say to everyone what it was - it was a left-field appointment, a young, inexperienced manager/head coach who had never taken a league game before.

‘Obviously there was a method behind what the club were trying to achieve, that was the whole point of bringing in Rich as a sporting director, trying to change the direction of the way the football club wanted to go.

‘Pompey fans expected someone else, which was absolutely fine, we knew that, we wanted to embrace it. We get it, I knew it. I knew not everybody would say “Oh yeah, this guy is definitely the right man for the job” because nobody knew who I was!

‘We just wanted to acknowledge it, get your frustrations out, but give us a bit of time. However, the only thing anybody really cares about is results. Whether you have managed 1,000 games or no games, results are what matters.

‘If you put someone experienced in and it doesn’t go well, fewer questions are asked than someone with no experience and it doesn’t go well. Fair play to the football club, they stuck to their guns.

‘I remember my first round of press conferences at Fratton Park on the Friday. It was actually filled with positivity, everyone was quite excited about it. The next day the fans were right behind us against Exeter.

‘I can deal with negativity and criticism, there’s no point in being a head coach or manager if you can’t. It’s going to come, it has to come. It’s part of the territory, you must deal with that and move on.’

Fortunately, Mousinho hit the ground running, with victories over Exeter and Fleetwood in his opening two matches.

Following a run of four defeats in 23 games, albeit with a frustrating amount of draws, the Blues ended last season in eighth.

The new head coach had overseen the team finishing 25 points clear of the relegation zone - and already proving social media critics wrong.

Mousinho added: ‘I never had issues with social media as a player, a lot of it because it wasn’t a thing when I first started playing. Even when I was on it, I never had any abuse, problems, or spats with fans.

‘It was a thing I was really aware of working with the PFA, where players have been abused, whether that’s racially or being told they were rubbish at the weekend and it stepped over the line.

‘The most important thing is you recognise that whoever comments are usually the vocal minority and a lot of die-hard fans don’t bother spouting everything on social media. It happens, it’s part of the game, it can also be used really positively, which, as a football club, we do really well.

‘The best thing, whether high or low, is to ignore it and get on with the job.’