'Proper' - New Championship boss serves up Leeds United praise with Whites season prediction
A new Championship boss has served up Leeds United praise with a Whites prediction amid “exciting times” for his own team too.
Portsmouth are back in the country’s second tier for the first time since 2012 and boss John Mousinho admits he is relishing the occasion of visiting Leeds today in the first game of the new campaign. The fixture, says Mousinho, represents a clash of two “proper” clubs, the Pompey boss predicting that Leeds will be “raring to go” this season after last May’s heartbreaking play-off final defeat to Southampton.
Leeds are clear favourites for this season’s title but Mousinho has warned that Portsmouth also have “great anticipation” themselves upon ending a 12-year wait for Championship football.
Sizing up today’s lunchtime kick-off at Elland Road, Mousinho, just 38, told the club’s website: “It really is a brilliant one for us to go to a club of Leeds’ size, stature and history. After the play-off disappointment they experienced at the end of last season, everyone will be raring to go on their side.
“We’ve also got great anticipation ourselves, especially given that we haven’t been in the Championship for so long. It’s two proper clubs that will be going toe-to-toe and everything about this fixture provides so much to look forward to.
“We’ve been working very hard over the past few weeks and it’s a really exciting time for all of us at Pompey. It’s the first game of the season and we’re all raring to go. We’ve sold out our allocation and it promises to be a great occasion.”