'Trust us': Eric Eisner's strong message to the Portsmouth faithful as Tornante eye the future

Eric Eisner reflected on Tornante’s big call over John Mousinho and admitted: Hopefully supporters now trust us.

The former Oxford defender’s shock appointment as Pompey head coach in January 2023 understandably drew a lukewarm reaction before a ball had been kicked.

It arrived during a period when chairman Michael Eisner’s ownership of the Blues was attracting criticism in some quarters, prompting supporter group PFC Coalition to hire a plane towing a protest banner.

Yet 15 months later the Fratton faithful were toasting a Championship return as League One champions, with Mousinho crowned as the division’s Manager of the Year.

And Blues director Eisner is banking on that outstanding success to have finally convinced the Pompey fans to trust them.

He told The News: ‘Looking from the outside in, John looked like a crazy decision, but when we talked to everybody and John himself, he had the coaching badges, he had a football IQ, was an upstanding guy, and a hugely obvious choice for us.

‘We knew we would get a little slick for it, although we didn't expect the reactions to be as much as we got to be honest.

‘Hopefully we’ve earned the trust of the fans now and, when we pick things moving forward, they will see we’re doing this for the good of the club.

‘John arrived at a time when people didn’t have the most faith in us, but we knew we had the right guy and John has been fantastic.

‘We didn’t think it was a gamble, honestly we were thrilled with John from day one. He’s relatable to the players, he was an obvious choice.

‘John has been amazing and you also have to give credit to his whole staff. The development of players from the start to the end of the season has been tremendous, to me that’s the barometer. The development of the players has been A-plus.

‘And hopefully people will trust us going forward.’

Since taking over the club in August 2017, Tornante have sacked just two managers.

Kenny Jackett’s reign ended after 211 matches, while Danny Cowley, who initially served as interim head coach, lasted almost 22 months.

And Eisner believes that patience towards their bosses will stand them in good stead.

He added: ‘This is a big thing. We held onto Kenny Jackett for a long time and I think that’s going to help us in the long run. With there being so much turnover in English football, people know if you come to Pompey we’re not that type of owner.

‘Even if we got a lot of stick from the fans at that point, we aren’t going to turnover coaches. You look at Barnsley getting rid of theirs just before the play-offs, that doesn’t work, the grass isn’t always greener, just make sure you pick right the first time, choose wisely.’