Wigan Athletic 'in a completely false league position', insists Portsmouth boss

Latics pushed the leaders all the way despite playing for half of the game with 10 men after Charlie Wyke was sent off for a lunge on Marlon Pack four minutes into the second period.

The home side had led through Martial Godo, but two goals in the space of six minutes just before half-time from Regan Poole and Paddy Lane were enough to secure the win for Pompey.

And Mousinho was delighted to come away with all three points after weathering an early storm, to leave Latics in the drop zone – albeit thanks to their eight-point deduction.

"Wigan started really well, as you would expect because they are a good side in a completely false league position," he said.

"I actually think it’s even more false in a way because when you start with minus eight points it’s really difficult to make those up.

"They have a lot of attacking quality in their side.

"So the biggest compliment I can give the lads is going 1-0 down, they didn’t panic.

"I felt quite calm that we would stick to the game plan and create chances - which we did.

"So to come from behind in that way shows resilience and a response to adversity, which is brilliant.

"One of the most pleasing things is scoring from a set-piece again.

"It’s not just about being good from set-pieces, it’s about creating them and when you have sustained pressure and sustained attacks we want a bit more.

"In the second half a couple of deliveries were dangerous and a couple hit the front man. We need to get better at that."

Pompey are now 21 games unbeaten - but Mousinho was keen to downplay that impressive statistic.

"It's not about the unbeaten run, it's just about the result," he added.

"And I'm absolutely thrilled to come away to a place like this and win.

"They are a very decent, very decent side, and I thought they showed that in the first half.

"They were a Championship side last season and have still got some fantastic players.

"They've beaten some very good sides this year, and I'm absolutely delighted with the result."

The Pompey boss also felt referee Will Finnie – who needed an escort off the field at full-time after angering the home supporters with several key decisions – was within his rights to brandish the red card against Wyke.

"It looked at the time that he jumped in and he injured Marlon, which is the most disappointing thing for us,” Mousinho added.

"I haven’t seen it again, but my thought at the time was those challenges can end in red cards because they injure players.

"Marlon isn’t coming off unless he’s hurt, so I thought it was an unnecessary challenge at that stage of the game and the referee dealt with it well.”