Portsmouth boss reveals secret of side’s attacking success as table-toppers prepare for return to action against Blackpool

Pompey’s defenders will keep their licence to attack to sustain their side’s promotion charge.

Blues boss John Mousinho has outlined the reasons why his players at the back are so important to the Blues’ attacking threat.

And Mousinho has demanded his central defenders continue playing on the front foot to open up rivals.

Pompey’s players in the middle of their back line has been a feature of their success this season, with Regan Poole and Conor Shaughnessy two of League One’s most progressive ball carriers.

Whoever fills in for Poole now with his season at a close will need to continue in that vein, as the Mousinho’s side return to action against Blackpool on Saturday.

Mousinho said: ‘We want our defenders to be progressive in everything they do.

‘A lot of the time they do have the ability to carry the ball up the pitch.

‘What we want from our centre-halves is that bravery to take the ball under pressure.

‘If no one is going to close them down they have to keep going and keep going until they can commit someone. That can then create an overload somewhere else on the pitch.

‘You do see it. You see it when you see how sides are clever in the way they press us and how they close us down.

‘A lot of the time the solution for sides is to let one of the centre-halves have the ball. So we need players who are first capable of doing it and second of all can execute it.

‘That technical competence has to come into what they do on the pitch.’

Mousinho is comfortable his side can have defenders who can cause problems for opposing sides going forward, without compromising their own resilience at the back.

That is a fact borne out by Pompey having the best defensive record in the division, with just four sides scoring more goals this term.

Mousinho added: ‘We’re not doing it for the sake of it.

‘First of all we have to be secure behind the ball, but it then releases another body up the pitch. It’s not gung-ho, because we do have security behind the ball.

‘We don’t want to discourage any players from joining our attack.’

READ MORE: ‘Frightening’: The forceful message to Pompey & Co as promotion rivals flex muscle.