Richard Hughes deserves praise after update concerning Portsmouth trio: View | OneFootball

Portsmouth have managed to secure promotion back to the Championship after 14 years away from the second tier, also winning the League One title after a dramatic 3-2 win over Barnsley.

Pompey appointed former Oxford United defender John Mousinho in January 2023, in what was a very left-field appointment at the time, but this season it has shown to be a great decision by the club.

In his first full season in management, Mousinho has managed to guide Portsmouth, who have just missed out on the play-offs in the last few seasons, to a dominant team who few have managed to stop.

Pompey have now finally secured promotion back to the second tier after 12 years away, with it now impossible for any team to knock them off the top spot.

As we near the conclusion of the campaign, players and managers are starting to be given recognition for the current campaign, with Mousinho winning the League One Manager of the Year award at the EFL awards.

But Portsmouth also had a few players be recognised for their amazing season so far at the EFL awards, too.

Marlon Pack, Conor Shaughnessy and Will Norris named in the League One Team of the Season

Pompey have been the best team in the division this season, and it showed when the EFL named their League One Team of the Season, as they had three players named - more than any other club.

Centre midfielder Marlon Pack, centre-back Conor Shaughnessy and goalkeeper Will Norris were the Pompey players named in the League One Team of the Season - and all deservedly so.

Pack joined the club in the summer of 2022 after leaving Cardiff City, and has been formidable for Pompey in defensive midfield. The captain has also shifted to centre-back when he is needed - he is a born leader and has carried the team on his back through difficult periods.

Shaughnessy joined the club last summer from Burton Albion, and has been an integral part to Pompey, playing every single minute in League One so far.

Shaughnessy is aerially dominant, calm with the ball at his feet and can also chip in with crucial goals - including the winner against Barnsley to secure promotion.

Like Shaughnessy, Norris also joined the club in the summer from Burnley. The 30-year-old has currently got the joint-second most clean sheets in the division, keeping 18 clean sheets in 44 games.

He has been a dominating presence and, importantly, is comfortable playing out from the back.

Richard Hughes has to be given credit

The one man who has to be given credit for the trio’s success this season has to be Pompey’s Sporting Director, Richard Hughes.

Hughes has done an incredible job when it has come to recruitment, in not only bringing in the right players but signing them at a good price too - or for nothing.

Pack, Shaughnessy and Norris were all signed on free transfers, with all of them being brilliant bits of business by the club.

Hughes has shown that he is the right man for the job, and has proven that since his appointment in 2022. He will be a crucial part of Portsmouth’s summer recruitment ahead of their return to the Championship.

The Championship will be a much harder league in which to navigate the transfer market, with higher wages and higher transfer fees required to sign players of the right level.

But Hughes has the knowledge to sign the right players for Mousinho, so Pompey fans have every reason to be optimistic ahead of what will be a challenging season.