Portsmouth manager John Mousinho makes League One play-off final prediction…

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho believes the tension of the play-off final makes it a difficult game to predict.

With his Pompey side already promoted as champions, Mousinho enjoyed a relaxed role as a studio guest for Sky Sports during the semi-finals. When asked for his prediction after his former club Oxford United defeated Peterborough United 2-1 on aggregate, he acknowledged that Bolton might have the quality advantage, but the pressure of the occasion could level the playing field.

“If you look at the form of the two sides over the season, I think Bolton have been the better side consistently,” Mousinho said. “But the play-offs do sometimes throw out those mad results, and you never know what’s going to happen, especially in a one-off. Peterborough had better chances and were more dominant over the two legs against Oxford, but they didn’t win. You never know what’s going to happen, but I think Bolton are favorites going in. It’s going to be a really fascinating game, but I certainly think Bolton will fancy themselves.”

Mousinho has been impressed with the start made by Oxford boss Des Buckingham, who was relatively unknown before his arrival at Kassam Stadium to replace Liam Manning in November. Buckingham’s previous coaching experience was mainly in India and New Zealand. Despite a strong start to the season that later faltered, Oxford recovered to finish strongly with only one defeat in their final eight games.

“Interestingly enough, when we talk about Des’ time so far and his first season over in England, it’s not been straightforward. He was under a lot of pressure two or three months ago,” Mousinho added. “There were quite a few Oxford fans questioning the appointment, so for Des to come through that is fantastic credit to him. He managed to block all that out, ignore the noise, and get on with what has been a fantastic job towards the back end of the season. The form going into this game and his form over the past seven or eight games has been fully deserving of being in the play-off final.”

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