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Exclusive:'I'm not sentimental': Portsmouth boss John Mousinho addresses fierce Fratton Park goalkeeping battle Schmid has made 71 appearances since arriving at Fratton Park from BW Linz in August 2024 John Mousinho is adamant he won’t be swayed by ‘sentimentalism’ when deciding his number one goalkeeper. And while he admits newcomer Daniel Bielica has swiftly impressed and doesn’t require an adjustment period, he believes Nicolas Schmid ‘justifies’ his ongoing first-team presence. Schmid retained his place for the opening match of the season at West Ham last weekend, despite the Blues last month splashing out £500,000 to bring Bielica in from NAC Breda. The Pole’s arrival cranks up the pressure on Schmid, who, according to Mousinho, recognises he failed to replicate his high standards last term. With Ben Killip now signing a new two-year deal and Josef Bursik last week returning to training following a quad injury, there are plenty of options for the head coach - yet Schmid is once again the man to beat to become Pompey’s first-choice keeper. ‘I think he’s in a pretty good spot’ Mousinho told The News: ‘Daniel has been very, very good since he’s come in. ‘You know what, I thought he might need time to adjust, but, having seen him in training and then our friendly against Kuwait SC, I am not so sure. ‘I think he’s in a pretty good spot, especially bearing in mind Daniel has come over from a top league where he has played a huge amount of football over the past few years. ‘Where we are with goalkeepers, we want them competing for the number one spot. Joe Bursik returned to full training last week, so we’ve got four in the building we are really happy with, really impressed with, and we’ll see how that develops over the course of the season. ‘We know we have an extremely good goalkeeper in Nico Schmid, Ben Killip has come in and done very well, while I thought Joe was excellent last season as well. We have really strengthened that department over the last couple of years. ‘I am all about what players deserve off the back of their performances, it’s not anything to do with being sentimental. ‘What I saw last season was that, in some very, very tough moments, particularly after QPR, such as Middlesbrough, Nico was absolutely superb and kept us in the game. Middlesbrough was probably the turning point of the season. ‘Then you saw him against Ipswich and Leicester, where he made some massive saves when we needed him. ‘Nico, by his own admission, didn’t hit the heights of his first season in the Championship, but did more than enough to justify his place in the team and justify why we stuck with him.’ Portsmouth ready to offload Josef Bursik Considering Killip’s future is now assured, Pompey will attempt to offload Bursik before the transfer deadline on September 1. With room for just three keepers in their 25-man Football League squad, the former Stoke manager is in danger of not being registered for the first half of the campaign. Meanwhile, Bielica, who was an unused substitute at West Ham in the Carabao Cup at the weekend, will be battling it out with Schmid for a starting spot. It’s reminiscent of when the Austrian arrived in August 2024 to challenge League One title-winner Will Norris - and ultimately succeeded in replacing him 10 matches into the 2024-25 season. ‘Nico has done brilliantly well’ Mousinho added: ‘It’s the same as every single position, but I think goalkeepers probably get a little more press around when other goalkeepers come in. ‘Granted, changes in goal are much more rare than with outfield players. You tend to have the situation where goalkeepers play for an extended period and they don’t necessarily come out. Whereas with outfield players there’s a lot more chopping and changing. ‘I get it, but it would be the same situation as always - and Nico has done brilliantly well over the last couple of years.’ Your Next Pompey Read: Portsmouth praying for small mercies after latest cruel set-back for luckless attacker