Portsmouth boss John Mousinho expects to face 'galvanised' Burnley

John Mousinho expects his Portsmouth side to face a “galvanised” Burnley on the back of their managerial change.

Fabio Celestini takes charge of his first game as Clarets boss after succeeding Nicky Hayen in the dugout.

Despite Burnley’s struggles, which sees them sit inside the Championship’s bottom three, Mousinho has backed the Clarets to pull away from relegation danger.

“They were in the Premier League last year and they’re a very good side, littered with very talented players,” he said ahead of Saturday’s game. “But we just keep rolling on.

“We’ve got the league leaders Swansea on Tuesday and then Stoke, who are flying, after that, so every test and every challenge in the Championship is [a big one]. There’s no easy games.

“With Burnley, I expect to see a really good side that is possibly galvanised by the change, because you see that a lot with players reacting to things that have changed at the football club.

“As I say, it’s a side that is littered with talented players, a lot of them played in the Premier League last year.

“Turf Moor has traditionally been a very tough place to go, although I know that’s not necessarily been the case over the last year or so. But I think it makes it a really difficult challenge for us with the managerial change.”

When asked if he thinks it’s a good time to face Burnley, Mousinho replied: “No, I don’t think so. I don’t think there will ever be a good time to play Burnley, particularly after they make the managerial change.

“If they hadn't made the change, I still think it would have been a really tough test. They’ve not shown it consistently enough, but their players have shown they can really do damage, just as they did at Watford and there were a couple of home games where they were unlucky, conceding late.

“They’re still a real threat and we’ll have to be on top of our game.”

He added: “I wouldn’t have predicted [Burnley’s league position] at the start of the season, with the players they have and everything the club has as its disposal.

“I do expect them to climb up the league at some point, but hopefully it doesn’t happen at the weekend.”