I’m a fair man’: Joey Barton’s Bristol Rovers stand-in gives verdict on Portsmouth draw with ‘league favourites’
Mangan was flattened by the manner of the Aussie’s goal coming so late to deny his side an opening-day win at Fratton Park.
But the Scouser admitted a draw was probably the right outcome in the final reckoning, as the Gas were forced to soak up second-half pressure.
Mangan was standing in for boss Joey Barton, who was serving a three-game stadium ban after admitting to improper behaviour at Sheffield Wednesday last season.
The 36-year-old saw a lot to be upbeat in his side’s performance, though could see Pompey’s display warranted a return.
He said: ‘I’m a fair man. There was an awful lot of pressure coming our way and a draw is probably a fair result. Albeit, we’ve kept them out until the 92nd, 93rd minute and on another day we could’ve got all three points.
‘There’s loads of positives to come here to Fratton Park and play, at times, the way we did play. The lads should take a lot of confidence from that.
‘Now, what happens then is you start hitting teams on the counter and we have to be deadly on the counter.
‘We let them off on the counter we need to be better at that. That’s something we need to work on. But, to come to Fratton Park, one of the league favourites to go up, perform the way we have, defend the way we have, the lads can be very proud of themselves.
‘There’s so many positives but just conceding at the end, the way it is in football, you just feel like you’re devastated which the lads are. I’ll have to see the goal back and see where we can improve.’
Luke Thomas’ first-half goal was a poor one to concede from Pompey’s point of view, with Gavin Whyte losing the ball and then Marlon Pack failing to track Jevani Brown’s run.
Mangan liked what he saw from his side in terms of their counter-attacking and feels that will be a feature of their play this season.
He added: ‘It was a fantastic goal and we had opportunities on the counter.
‘We have to be better in so many areas. I’m not on a downer, though, this will be a massive point at the end of the season
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Former Bristol Rovers club captain Paul Coutts has found a new home.
Coutts was one of five players to depart the Memorial Stadium this summer, and it was thought he might have returned. The 35-year-old was tipped to join Joey Barton’s coaching staff but plans failed to materialise and he has now found his next venture.
His playing career will continue after signing with Scottish side Inverurie Locos. The Locos play in the Highland League, which is the fourth tier of Scottish football, and is mainly amateur or semi-professional.
Commenting on the signing of Coutts, Locos boss Andy Low said: “Couttsy is a brilliant signing for the club and he will bring so much quality, knowledge and experience to us all, both on and off the park, having worked at the top level for so long.
“It’s one that has been in the background for a couple of months now and I always felt there was a chance during initial chats that we had, although admittedly even I felt this one was very ambitious.
“He had many full-time opportunities in England and Scotland but the mix of coming back home to his family whilst continuing playing locally, and back in the SHFL was what suited him best.”
The last few months of his career at the Mem were rocked after suffering a serious knee injury which curtailed his campaign. He took up an interim coaching role, but that was not continued into the next campaign.
His move back up to Scotland makes sense given his family are based up in Aberdeen, and now he will be able to continue his playing career whilst being closer to them. Coutts will have an opportunity to continue his coaching career with his new team, whilst he continues to study for his A Licence with the English FA.
To date, Coutts made 68 appearances across two seasons for the club, and helped them win promotion from League Two. During his time in England, he also turned out for Derby County and Sheffield United, helping the latter win promotion to the Premier League.
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