'Maybe': Portsmouth boss makes Preston North End confession - 11 days on from Deepdale defeat

The Fratton Park head coach has admitted the nature of his side’s defeat to PNE at Deepdale before the international break was perhaps the angriest he’s ever felt after a game.

Paul Heckingbottom’s side won the Championship contest 2-1 thanks to second-half goals from Ryan Porteous and Stefan Thordarson, with the Iceland international’s winner coming on 87 minutes and just moments after Colby Bishop had leveled for the visitors.

The manner of the Lilywhites’ second goal infuriated Mousinho, though, as he labelled Portsmouth’s management of the game after drawing level ‘abysmal’ in his immediate post-match interview.

More than 10 days have passed since then, with the south coast side’s focus now on North End’s Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers, who they face on Saturday in their latest battle to avoid the drop.

However, Mousinho’s reaction at Deepdale was still a topic of conversation when he conducted his pre-match media duties ahead of Saturday’s return to action.

And when asked if his side’s defeat to PNE was the most irate he had been during his short stint in management, he conceded: ‘Maybe’.

John Mousinho airs Preston North End frustrations again

Speaking to our sister title portsmouth.co.uk, he added: ’Because it feels to me like, Preston - a really well-organised established Championship side - that we competed really well away from home, we forced them into the four changes at half-time, and even then I thought in the second half the game was fairly even.

‘Yeah, Preston scored but we worked so hard to get back in the game and equalise, (and) to throw it away in the manner that we did, that was the most frustrating thing for me.

‘And it wasn't just the goal, there were a couple of warning signs before that. Preston should have scored twice once we'd equalised and for us to not have the ability to deal with that…

‘We do need to be a bit more solid, we do need to recognise that we've maybe nearly conceded twice and just see the game out. Those are the things we need to progress at and I think we've got an experienced enough squad, a good enough squad to be able to do that and I think we all need to step up.’

Preston North End’s victory that day - following an away midweek draw at Sunderland - helped Heckingbottom’s side move closer to securing their own Championship status for another season.

With eight games left to play, the 14th-placed Lilywhites are nine points clear of the relegation zone, with five of the teams currently battling for survival still to face the Lilywhites over the coming weeks.

That means the Deepdale outfit will have a huge role to play in who ends up back in League One.

After Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final against Aston Villa, Heckingbottom & Co return to Championship duty with a trip to third-from-bottom Derby on Wednesday night.

For your next Preston North End read: How to watch Preston North End v Aston Villa: TV channel and live stream details for FA Cup quarter-final - plus prize money on offer