John Mousinho Reveals Duo Who Must Be Quality For Portsmouth Ahead Of Millwall Clash

Portsmouth have spent nearly the entirety of 2025 outside the bottom three in the Championship, but the pressure is on with seven games to go to ensure that they do not return to League One.

Pompey make the trip to Millwall on Saturday afternoon looking for just their third away victory of the season, and taking all three points will be at the top of John Mousinho’s agenda as the gap to the relegation places narrows.

Derby County’s 2-0 win over Preston North End on Wednesday evening saw the Rams climb out of the drop zone and into 20th, with just five points now separating the Hampshire outfit and Cardiff City in 22nd place.

They will need to be at their very best when they make the trip to The Den this weekend, and Portsmouth will need the in-form Josh Murphy to continue to perform, while the goals of Colby Bishop will also come in handy.

Mousinho is looking to avoid any immediate relegation battle, and he has sent out a warning to his players ahead of Saturday’s game.

John Mousinho sends message to Portsmouth players about the threat of relegation

Portsmouth have been strong over the last couple of months, winning five of their last eight matches in the Championship. They most recently picked up a 1-0 victory over a now struggling Blackburn Rovers team and they are proving to be a force in the Championship at times.

However, as has been proven on multiple occasions in this division, everyone can beat anyone and they must not be caught napping on Saturday against an inconsistent Millwall side.

Ahead of the match, Mousinho has urged Pompey to avoid any complacency and to continue their run of form by picking up back-to-back victories for the first time since February.

Position	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff	Points
15	QPR	39	11	12	16	45	53	-8	45
16	Swansea	39	12	9	18	40	51	-11	45
17	Portsmouth	39	12	9	18	47	61	-14	45
18	Stoke City	39	10	12	17	40	52	-12	42
19	Oxford United	39	10	12	17	40	57	-17	42

The 38-year-old said (via: The News): “There’s a lot of positivity at the football club at the minute, that’s great. But, and I’m not just saying this, we are so far from being out of the relegation battle.

“We have to be very wary, sides down the bottom will win; we saw that at the weekend, and we saw that when Plymouth came to us and took points. Luton have put together a good run, a draw at Middlesbrough and win at Hull; all of a sudden they are back in it.”

Mousinho continued: “Derby win four on the spin, Stoke win two out of three, Cardiff are dangerous and Oxford are capable of putting together a good run.

“All of the sides down the bottom are going to win games at this stage of the season: I guarantee you they will win games. Because they will win games, we have to win games and make it about us. We have to focus on ourselves, because that’s all that matters.”

Portsmouth need Bishop and Murphy to be at their best vs Millwall

Pompey will need to be defensively strong against the Lions in SE16, with Alex Neil having plenty of attacking quality at his disposal. But that does not mean they must sit back and soak up pressure for 90 minutes.

The likes of Bishop and Murphy will be crucial to Portsmouth’s chances of picking up all three points away from home, with the pair both in a purple patch currently.

The former has scored twice in his last four matches while also registering an assist, and his return to the starting XI following heart surgery in the summer has coincided with an up-turn in form for his team, something that Mousinho can only be proud of.

Nevertheless, with a month to go until the final day of the season, there is still plenty of work to be done on the pitch and Pompey will hope that their advantage over the bottom three increases – starting against Millwall.