Championship: John Mousinho could be next manager sacked as Portsmouth face tough run-in

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Credit: Imago Fri 3 April 2026 9:47, UK Championship side Portsmouth could be the next club to relieve their manager of his duties as John Mousinho takes his side into a tough run of fixtures starting at Norwich City on Good Friday.Portsmouth are hovering precariously above the Championship relegation zone right now ahead of their last eight games of the campaign.Mousinho’s side travel to in-form Norwich City on Good Friday in search of their first win since 21 February, following a torrid run of five defeats in their last six games.Pompey have not been this close to the bottom three since February last year, with their progression stunted after they managed to stay up on their return to the second-tier in 2024-25.In terms of managers in the Championship who look to be under threat of being dismissed, Mousinho seems the most likely to be sacked next before the end of the campaign. John Mousinho under pressure ahead of tough Portsmouth fixturesThe Championship sack race claimed another victim over the international break as Gerhard Struber was relieved of his duties at Bristol City and surprisingly replaced, in the interim, by Roy Hodgson.

MORE FOOTBALL INSIDER STORIES Mousinho could well be next, considering Portsmouth’s upcoming fixtures and the way other Championship managers are more favourably viewed at their respective clubs.DateFixture3 AprilNorwich (a)6 AprilOxford (H)11 AprilMiddlesbrough (a)14 AprilIpswich (H)18 AprilLeicester (H)21 AprilCoventry (a)25 AprilStoke (a)2 MayBirmingham (H)Portsmouth’s remaining Championship fixturesThey travel to Norwich on Good Friday, with fans fearing the worst against a side that has won seven successive home games since January and shot up the table under Philippe Clement in recent months.Mousinho’s former club, Oxford, are up next on Easter Monday, and they are also in much better form after winning three of their last five matches to still be in with a chance of survival.They then have to face each of the current top three in their last six fixtures, as well as a relegation rival with more quality across the pitch, in Leicester, who have breached PSR once again according to Football Insider’s sources.Every other manager in the relegation battle looks to be secure in their job right now, having either been appointed fairly recently or brought in as a short-term interim.Birmingham, Stoke, Preston and QPR are all clubs that may want to make a managerial change, but each have nothing to play for, and so are surely more likely to do so in the summer.Mousinho is now clearly the manager who is most likely to be next on the chopping block in the second tier, but a win at Norwich would go a long way to aiding his job security.What has Mousinho said about his Portsmouth future?Pompey have not cycled through managers at anywhere near the rate of other clubs in the division in recent years, after working their way back up from League Two to the Championship.Their owners, the Eisner family, have only sacked two bosses in the last nine years, and so Mousinho is understandably confident that he will at least see out the season at Fratton Park.Speaking to BBC Radio Solent on Thursday, he said: “Myself and the club have been through a fair bit over the past three and a bit years.“I put myself under a huge amount of pressure, and there is pressure that comes with this job. I’ve had the full backing of the board from the CEO to the sporting director (over the years).“I know we need to improve results but that (potential of being sacked) is not playing on my mind at all.“If there is a change that needs to be made, then absolutely fine, I can live with that, but it isn’t anything that is influencing decisions at the moment.” 🏆 Championship Insider Access Get the full story from across the EFL with our dedicated expert hubs: Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from across the EFL Championship.