OXFORD United head coach Gary Rowett says he could see the potential for John Mousinho to forge a managerial career when he signed him as a player at Burton Albion.
Rowett welcomes Mousinho and his Portsmouth side to the Kassam Stadium this afternoon, with both bosses looking to pull their teams further away from the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.
United and Pompey were both promoted from League One last season, with the latter winning the title in what was former U’s skipper Mousinho’s first full season as Portsmouth head coach.
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Rowett signed Mousinho for the Brewers in June 2014, and he was quickly instilled as captain.
The duo would ultimately only work together for a few months, as Rowett left the Brewers for Birmingham City in October 2014, but United’s head coach was impressed from what he saw of Mousinho at the time.
Mousinho would go on to captain the Brewers to back-to-back promotions from League Two to the Championship, and he then joined the U’s on deadline day in the summer of 2017.
The former defender gradually took on a hybrid player-coach role at United prior to his first job in management with Portsmouth in January 2023.
Rowett said: “You could see that with John. When I signed him, you could see instantly he was a captain and a very influential player that we signed at the time that I think eventually got the team promoted.
“It was the season that at the start of the season, I left. I think we had a very good start to the season, and you could just see in the mindset and the way he carried himself.
“You could see it in the intelligent conversations that I had with him. He’s probably one of the least surprising players that I’ve had that have stepped into that role.
“I know he’s not been doing it for that long, but so far he’s made a fabulous start. It’s nice to see.
“Unfortunately I’m getting to that age where a lot of my old players are now turning up in the same forum and the same competitive landscape.
“I don’t know whether that’s just because of how old I am or the fact that I’m still around, but either way it’s nice to see.
“I wish him very well this season, but of course I’m going to say not on Saturday.”
The U’s, 16th in the Championship table, are five points clear of 18th-placed Pompey heading into the weekend’s clash at Grenoble Road.