Exclusive: What Don Goodman has said on John Mousinho's future at Portsmouth FC | OneFootball

Pompey have a real gem of a manager on their hands.

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho is one of the best young coaches out there in the EFL at the moment, and yet he hasn't been heavily linked with any of the recently vacant jobs in the Championship.

Many second-tier sides decided just before, around or after the end of the 2024/25 campaign that the person in charge of their first-team wasn't the right one going forward, and many of them have already appointed a new manager, or are reportedly close to doing so.

Mousinho did a fantastic job keeping Portsmouth up with a minimal budget to say the least. He also had his premier goalscorer, Colby Bishop, missing until early November because of a heart problem.

The odds weren't in his favour and yet he overcame them and secured another season of Championship football before the final day of the season.

There's no better place for John Mousinho to be than Fratton Park

This role with Pompey is his first in this line of work. Before being appointed in January 2023, Mousinho was a player for Oxford United. In his first full season in the job, he won League One.

It's a really strong CV for someone of his experience, and yet nobody has made a serious move for him. Sky Sports pundit and commentator Don Goodman believes that this isn't such a bad thing for the 39-year-old.

He exclusively told Football League World: "I think clubs should always take it as a compliment if players or their manager are linked with other teams, especially if those teams are higher up the food chain. Having said that, though, I think John is in the perfect place for him at this stage of his career.

"You're looking at some of the other jobs that are available. I know that Ryan Mason has gone to West Bromwich Albion, so that isn't an option. There's possibly a Bristol City [move] out there, but would you leave Portsmouth for them?

"There's possibly a Queens Park Rangers, but, again, I think Mousinho is already in the best place and would like to develop himself as a head coach/manager at Portsmouth. It's a big club and I think they will back him."

John Mousinho should only leave Fratton Park in extreme circumstances

If he continues to impress, there is going to come a point when a higher-ranking club makes a strong attempt to snatch him away from Pompey. If a decent release clause is paid, it would be sad for the club and their supporters, but they couldn't begrudge him.

The only other situation in which you could see Mousinho departing is if things start to go really poorly either on or off the pitch. Things didn't start well this season, though, but the club's hierarchy stuck with their promotion winner and their patience was rewarded, which suggests an absolute catastrophe would have to befall him before the 39-year-old was pushed overboard.