The Blues boss insists his first team will have all their pre-match needs met ahead of monster trips to Hull on Saturday and then Plymouth next Tuesday night.

And that will ensure everyone is in tip-top condition for two fixtures that will provide a glimpse on whether the current Fratton Park outfit are truly capable of surviving their first season back in the Championship for 12 years.

Mousinho himself turned the spotlight on pre-match preparations and conditioning after Pompey’s 2-0 midweek loss to Cardiff. In the aftermath of that defeat, which came three weeks after the capitulation at the hands of Stoke, he wanted to speak to the players to ensure that he, his coaching staff and the club were doing all they could to ensure everyone was in the right place to compete on the pitch.

That represents a tough undertaking – but Mousinho insists he expects his troops to cope with the help of the careful planning that goes on behind the scenes.

He said: ‘Managing schedules is the big one for us and managing the recoveries on the Saturday evenings, Sunday and Monday really, just making sure we do everything as best we can to prepare the lads so that they’re physically in a good shape for the game on Tuesday.

‘To be honest, and I don’t want to sound like an old dinosaur, but things have moved forward so much since I first started in the game 20 years ago. The way that we travel, the hotels that we stay in, the food, the preparation, S&C (strength and conditioning) – everything (is better).

‘I know it’s the same for the majority of clubs, but I think as a player, there aren’t any excuses really to not be at the top of your game, so I really expect the players to be fine for both of these away games.’

Pompey sit bottom of the table heading into their double-header on the road. The Blues have picked up five points from their six games played away from home to date. They have lost both their midweek away matches – to Stoke and Cardiff respectively.