'An impressive individual': Rich Hughes on why John Mousinho is perfect for Portsmouth ambition

And Pompey’s sporting director had no hesitation in approaching the then-Oxford United player when a vacancy arose to become Fratton Park’s head coach.

Mousinho has enjoyed an encouraging start to life with the Blues, overseeing seven points and a defeat in his opening four matches.

Although the appointment was perceived as left field and doubted by some, the 36-year-old has swiftly galvanised a Pompey team which had worryingly been spiralling down the table.

Yet the seeds for his Blues arrival were sewn in the summer during a Uefa Pro Licence course at St George's Park.

Hughes told The News: ‘I’ve been fortunate enough to do some work with the FA where they ask me to come in as a footballing expert and give prospective head coaches an education on what the recruitment process might look like.

‘It’s a wider sea change of that dynamic between a head coach and director of football/sporting director.

‘One of the big perks of doing the work with the FA is you get exposure to some really good people – and I got speaking to John in the summer.

‘He was actually on the same Uefa Pro Licence course as Danny and Nicky Cowley, and he’s an impressive individual.

‘I would hope people see the side I have of him. He is charismatic, has a good leadership style, and a real presence about him that became apparent.

‘Then, when we had conversations on how he saw the game, this was someone with a real sense of how he felt the game should be played, a real belief.

‘I always remember John as a player, he was aggressive and nasty, and ended up at Burton off the back of a period where he probably hadn't played his best football - and redeveloped himself.

‘That told me a lot about him as an individual. It’s that capacity to learn, that capacity to develop, intangible qualities you might not always get a chance to grasp with people.

‘John was one we had earmarked. We had a lot apply, but also had people we wanted to reach out and speak to.

‘I felt John was somebody we absolutely needed to speak to because, from my experiences with him, he’d fit a lot of our criteria.’

From the dismissal of Cowley in the aftermath of a Charlton defeat to Mousinho’s appointment, the process took 19 days.

It was a duration which saw former first-team coach Simon Bassey overseeing three matches on a caretaker basis.

And Hughes has defended the length of time it took to identify Cowley’s successor.

He added: ‘We make no apologies over how long it took.

‘You can do it really concisely, but there’s a fine balance between being concise and being thorough, making sure you end up at the right level of work and diligence to make an appointment.

‘We are confident this is an appointment for the longer-term vision of the football club. Hopefully when we’re here in a couple of years’ time, we won’t be talking about those two-and-a-half weeks.’