Portsmouth

Portsmouth midfielder John Swift will be sidelined for up to six weeks after suffering a knee injury in training.

The 31-year-old joined Pompey from West Bromwich Albion in July 2025 but has only had limited opportunities, with head coach John Mousinho revealing he is now facing a lengthy period out.

"It's going to be four-to-six weeks and we're probably going to be on the cautious side at the back end of that," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"It was not a nice looking injury as he went down without anyone near him. We feared the worst at that moment - it's not ideal but we thought it'd be a lot longer."

Swift has made only one Championship appearance for Portsmouth this season, appearing as substitute in a 2-1 defeat by Bristol City in August, and also featured against West Ham in the Carabao Cup.

"It's frustrating for Swifty and for us," said Mousinho.

"With the number of games we've got and the number of players we need, who knows, there are a couple of games that would have suited his ability to come on and unlock defences.

"It was a real blow. He's kept his head down, not had a huge amount of minutes but has kept his head down, he hasn't complained, kept himself fit and got on with it."

Listen to more Portsmouth interviews and content on BBC Sounds.

Tom Chappell
Fournilwrittenalloverit

Image source, Getty Images

The 3-2 win over Sheffield United is all that matters, but it is hard to argue Portsmouth did not get away with one on Wednesday night.

Surrendering a promising foothold in the game, 2-0 up at home is a worry but to do it against 10 men is a real concern.

You would be hard-pressed to find two worse back-to-back 45-minute periods against 10 men than our last two games. Our ability to be as poor as we were at times with a numerical advantage is comically staggering.

I also felt we were particularly poor in the first half before the opening goal, even giving consideration to the south coast derby disappointment just four days prior.

Having said that, we did do something I have felt we have struggled with so far this season.

There have been a number of occasions where we have come away from a game thinking we could have played for hours and hours and still not scored.

On Wednesday night that changed. At 2-2, I genuinely felt like we had it in us to go on and win the game. We had a newfound impetus that spurred us on to find the winner.

It is a very good job the winner came, as it is likely Fratton Park would not have been a very nice place otherwise.

Ryan Kavuma-McQueen continues to stagger and shine at the age of just 17, Zak Swanson pulled another stunner out of the very top drawer, and Jojo Dia had his best game in a Portsmouth shirt.

The schedule is relentless as a third game in six days awaits us in Norwich followed by a midweek trip to Wolverhampton. Plenty to work on as we hit the road once again.

We asked for your thoughts after Wednesday's Championship match between Portsmouth and Sheffield United.

Here are some of your comments:

Portsmouth fans

Rick: Pompey were not at their best, hopefully that is still to come. Too many simple mistakes, continually giving the ball away. Lots of effort from everyone but less so whoever leads the strikers.

Can't believe the delivery is lacking as Kavuma-McQueen was once again the outstanding player but didn't find anyone that could put his crosses away bar Segecic's tap in!

Ian: That was way harder than it needed to be. The faults of soft goals and no real patterns of play in evidence for big chunks of this game but somehow they found a way. Hopefully we can build on this because we won't get to play against 10 men or score 30-yard worldies every week.

Rob: Pompey great going forward some lovely football but terrible defence. Need coaching on corners at both ends. John Mousinho living on a prayer. Blades down to 10 men didn't sit back just kept attacking, great game to watch. Pompey deserved the win but were lucky.

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield United fans

Jack: Here we go again. Wilder having a pop at referees but praising his players. He always has tunnel vision views and will not face the broader picture of how the team keeps failing to meet up to expectations.

John: Wilder continues to deflect any criticism. Peck ineffectual again. Blaster looks frightened of any contact, not the same player since he got clattered by Bannan.

Wottsamaddahu: Great performance by 10-man Blades for nearly an hour showing great team spirit playing for the shirt, which as a season ticket holder you want for your money. Thought harsh second yellow from the same referee who sent two Blades players off last year? Portsmouth player nutmegged Choudhury then ran into him?

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho spoke to BBC Radio Solent following their 3-2 win over Sheffield United.

"I'm obviously happy that we've won the game but the nature of it showed that we have a huge amount to learn and a long way to come," he said.

"It's been a tough few days but we've managed to get three points which is the most important thing.

"Tonight the game was there for the taking as it was on Sunday but at times the decision making has not been quite right.

"I was furious at times through the game and I still am and I think the players are on the same page as me."

Portsmouth will look to bounce back from a disappointing derby loss to Southampton when they welcome Sheffield United to Fratton Park on Wednesday (19:45 BST).

Pompey could not overcome a 1-0 deficit at St Mary's on Sunday despite the Saints seeing Cam Bragg sent off for a second yellow card at the end of the first half.

Meanwhile, the Blades took a convincing 3-0 win over Lincoln City on Saturday and find themselves just two points short of the play-off positions going into the midweek games.

• Portsmouth have lost each of their last three league games against Sheffield United, last losing more in a row to the Blades in December 1980 (6).

• After winning this exact fixture last season 1-0, Sheffield United could enjoy back-to-back league wins at Portsmouth for the first time since May 1987.

• Portsmouth have won just one of their four home Championship games this season (D1 L2). Only four times in the 21st century have they won one or fewer of their first five home league matches in a campaign: 2005-06 (0), 2009-10 (0), 2012-13 (1), and 2024-25 (0).

• ● After losing 2-1 at Stoke, Sheffield United are looking to avoid suffering back-to-back away defeats in the Championship for the second time in 2026, after January against Charlton and Southampton.

• ● Sheffield United's Chris Wilder averages 2.5 points-per-game against Portsmouth in the Championship (P4 W3 D1), his joint-highest against any side he has managed 3+ games in the competition (also 2.5 v Brentford and Reading).

The latest episode of BBC Radio Solent's Who Needs Mourinho? podcast is out now.

Former Portsmouth manager Guy Whittingham joins Chris Wise and Andy Moon to figure out what went wrong for Pompey at St Mary's. Did John Mousinho get his substitutions and his selections right?

Listen above or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

Tom Chappell
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

A defeat up the road stings much more than most and the circumstances of the game makes it even more painful.

Pompey's interminability for a league win at St Mary's remains.

A reconvene of a year or so ago and the bizarre logistics of arriving at your home ground for a game taking place 20 miles or so up the road with five hours to go until kick-off.

The motorways closed, the coaches were escorted. Nobody who bleeds Pompey blue in or out unless they were on a bus.

The day had less of a sensation about it than last year, more of a 'here we go again' rather than the anticipation and build-up of so many years away.

Given reported disorder post-match, it's likely the 'bubbles' in terms of club-managed travel will continue to be reciprocated.

A real stain given how the vast majority of match-going fans would be more than capable of making their way to a stadium uneventfully.

In terms of the affair itself, it is less of a rage for me and more of a feeling of being let down.

In my lifetime there has never been a better opportunity to win a game at St Mary's than just before half-time on Sunday afternoon.

Daniel Peretz was equal to Colby Bishop's header and had that not been the case, at 1-1 with 10 men against 11, I would have backed Pompey to go on and score again.

Instead, chance after chance passed us by, we overplayed, we rushed it and that final ball evaded us all afternoon.

To not test an opposition's goalkeeper, regardless of ability on paper or reality against 10 men in a game is poor. On a day like south coast derby day, it is catastrophic.

Albeit with a strong group of top-end Championship players and an excellent home record this season, Southampton will not have had an easier afternoon at a numerical disadvantage in a long time.

Our build-up play was pretty dreadful, we took little care of the ball in large spells and had such poor touches on receiving possession.

Basic footballing fundamentals nowhere to be seen on a day where we really ought to have been fired up and at an eight or nine out of 10 all over the pitch.

In a perverse way, I probably would have felt better following a 4-0 or 5-0 thrashing.

But to have the opportunity staring you in the face and the inability to take it during the fixture at their place is frustrating beyond words.

Find more from Tom at the Fournilwrittenalloverit, external YouTube channel.

Image source, Getty Images

Portsmouth defender Regan Poole felt that his side lacked attacking quality in their south coast derby defeat to Southampton.

Pompey went a goal down before Saints were reduced to 10 men prior to the break as Cameron Bragg was shown a second yellow card for pulling the shirt of Ebou Adams.

Portsmouth then failed to make their extra man count as they went through the second half failing to trouble Daniel Peretz in the Southampton goal.

"I'm so disappointed, there was such an opportunity there," Poole told BBC Radio Solent.

"We got into so many good areas, we huffed and we puffed but really speaking did we have enough quality to put the ball in the back? Did we test the keeper enough? Probably not.

"The overriding feeding is just disappointing because that was an opportunity to have a real good go at them in the second half and I just don't think we tested their keeper enough.

"We put the backline under pressure, we got into some really good areas, but was it enough to win the game? Probably not."

John Mousinho's side have won just two Championship games all season, losing four times and drawing twice.

They sit one point above the relegation zone after their eight matches and host Sheffield United on Wednesday (19:45 BST).

We asked for your thoughts after Southampton's 1-0 south coast derby win over Portsmouth in the Championship on Sunday.

Here are some of your comments:

Southampton fans

Robert: Gritty not pretty. Great to get a clean sheet. It's a long season in the EFL so don't want to get carried away. Pompey sliced through our right side with ease. Still got work to do to tighten up defensively.

Bob: Why do we never do things the easy way? We had the first half under control yet seemed to ride our luck a bit in the second. Flynn Downes had a solid game and Azaz was class.

Ian: Excellent, gutsy performance from Saints. Finn Azaz well-deserved man of the match.

Saint John: True gritty performance from the boys as it had to be... bitter experience tells us that one goal conceded when down to 10 is swiftly followed by a second. No complaints regarding referee decisions against us but I thought the ref was extraordinarily lenient at times against Pompey.

John: Hard battle, lucky to win. Portsmouth need to learn where the net is. But I will take any win over our rivals any day.

Jim83: As a Southampton fan I thought it was a poor choice to have Bragg on ahead of better players in a game like this. His inexperience cost him. The referee was genuinely poor for both teams. Portsmouth should have had more cards dished out. Azaz was lucky to not have been sent off for his retaliation tackle but how many times was he, Larin and Scienza pulled back by their shirts!

Richard: Saints coped with the 10-man disadvantage very adequately. They looked well organised, which may be a credit to manager Tonda Eckert.

Image source, Shutterstock

Portsmouth fans

Andy: Pompey were disappointing in the opposition box. Always seemed to want too much time or another touch or made the wrong decision. Feel we are going to struggle if we don't fix this quickly. Played some decent football though at times.

Paulo: We never looked like scoring. Even if we had been there all day we wouldn't have scored. Same problem we have had for two seasons. Yet another long season ahead battling against relegation. Not good enough Mous…

Grant: The team looked weak across the park. Not capitalising on the extra man will cost the team. Relegation fodder this year!

Graham: Far too slow. Lucky Saints only had 10 men.

Glenn: Always in with a chance but poor decision-making and lack of confidence in attack ultimately cost us. Never really looked like scoring.

Gary: I thought we played very well in the first half, especially down the left side and looked good in the final third. Adams covered so much ground but I can't see why we insist on playing too much football at the back. For me our keeper sees far too much of the ball. It's too risky in my opinion. There's still a lot of positives about the season going forward. PUP.

Image source, Getty Images

That was one that got away for Portsmouth.

Even before Southampton went down to 10 men, Pompey had more than matched them but the difference in quality in the final third was stark.

Southampton scored one and created the game's next two best chances - this despite being camped in their own half for much of the second spell.

Portsmouth got in behind Southampton on numerous occasions but their overall decision-making in and around the box was poor.

This was a great opportunity to get a positive result away at their major rivals and one they couldn't take.

Pompey are not a bad team but their limitations are currently costing them.

Nicolas Schmid deserves credit for the two excellent saves he made on his return. The number one shirt is his again.

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho spoke to BBC Radio Solent after defeat away at Southampton.

For a written selection of his quotes, click here.

Portsmouth captain Marlon Pack believes the south coast derby is far from just another game.

The Blues travel to St Mary's on Sunday (12:00 BST) to face their bitter rivals Southampton in their first meeting of the Championship season.

The two matches last season ended as 0-0 and 1-1 draws, and both sides will be desperate to this time get one over on their Hampshire foes.

Pack, 35, was an unused substitute during last campaign's match at Saints before coming off the bench at Fratton Park as they came from a goal down to leave with a point.

"It's not [just another game] and I don't like when that kind of terminology is used," he told BBC Radio Solent.

"We can say it is - and obviously there are three points up for grabs - but it isn't, and there's an opportunity here to embrace the challenge and put your name down in history and become a hero.

"What a game to do that in and because of the context with the travel, it's going to be an atmosphere straight away when we arrive there.

"I'm making sure that we have that fire in the belly but there's got to be a tactical calmness to it as well."

Pack started his career at Portsmouth before moves to Bristol City and Cardiff City followed by a return to Fratton Park in 2022.

He has played 160 times for Pompey across both spells and has scored 10 goals.

Fresh from boss Tonda Eckert being given the all-clear to continue as Southampton boss after the Spygate affair, Saints are hoping to maintain their 100% home record in the Championship with a fifth successive victory.

South coast rivals Portsmouth make the short journey along the M27 on Sunday (12:00 BST) on a three-game unbeaten run.

• The last four league encounters between Southampton and Portsmouth have all been drawn, with Pompey the last team to win in this fixture in a 4-1 victory at Fratton Park in April 2005.

• Portsmouth have won one of their past nine league visits to Southampton (D4 L4), winning 2-0 in the top-flight in January 1988 under Alan Ball.

• Southampton have scored 15 goals in just four home league games this season – it is the most by a Championship side in their first four home games since Reading scored 16 in 2008-09.

• This is only Portsmouth's third league game on a Sunday in the past two seasons, with the previous two both against Southampton (D2). Pompey have won just four of their past 32 league games on Sundays (D11 L17).

• Southampton's Cyle Larin has scored 11 goals in 14 Championship appearances at St Mary's, scoring a goal every 81 minutes. Since 2004-05, the only player to play 750+ minutes at one stadium and have a better minutes per goal ratio is Dwight Gayle at St James' Park (one every 72 mins).

Image source, Getty Images

Portsmouth midfielder Ebou Adams says there is a fine line between becoming the hero or villain in the South Coast derby against rivals Southampton.

Adams netted the equaliser for Pompey against Saints in a 1-1 draw at Fratton Park last season.

And in doing so, the 30-year-old became the first Portsmouth player to score against Southampton since David Norris' 90th-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw at St Mary's in April 2012.

"The fact that [Norris goal] is still remembered, that shows how important it is," Adams told the Who Needs Mourinho? podcast.

"He scored a last minute equaliser and he's still being spoken about. I've scored an equaliser. What reception would you get if you score a winner?

"If Norris scored 14 years ago and people are still talking about it, it's a chance for someone to be an absolute hero if they score the winner.

"At the same time, when emotion gets into it, you can absolutely become a villain. So we have to be very careful as players."

Pompey visit Southampton on Sunday and Adams said making a costly error in this fixture, such as getting sent off for mistiming a tackle, does not just cost the team - it costs "the whole city".

"It's so difficult," he added.

"You really want to do well for the fans, that's why it's so important to take the emotion out of it as a player because God forbid anyone from either team makes a crazy mistake.

"It can easily be a downward spiral from there because the management of the game is so, so massive."

Listen to the special episode of BBC Radio Solent's Who Needs Mourinho? podcast with Ebou Adams below or on BBC Sounds here.