Portsmouth boss makes Bolton Wanderers v Oxford United final call as Peterborough United and Barnsley come up short in play-offs

John Mousinho believes Bolton Wanderers are favourites to join Pompey in the Championship.

But the Blues boss highlighted the one-off nature of the play-off finals as a potential leveller for former club Oxford United, as he lauded Des Buckingham’s managerial fightback.

Mousinho looked on as the League One drama unfolded, as the U’s made it to Wembley and condemned Peterborough United to another season in the third tier following the 1-1 draw at London Road.

That sets up a final showdown with Ian Evatt’s side a week Saturday at Wembley, after they came through a dramatic two-legged battle with Barnsley 5-4 on aggregate.

Mousinho feels it will be Bolton who go into the final with the edge, but Oxford’s battle with the Posh gave indications why that may not be decisive.

The Pompey boss, who was part of the Sky Sports commentary team for the game, said: ‘If you look at the form of the two sides over the season, I think Bolton have been the better side consistently.

'But the play-offs do sometimes throw out those mad results and you never know what’s going to happen, especially in a one-off.

‘You’ve probably seen over the two legs there (between Peterborough and Oxford), where Peterborough had the better chances and were probably the more dominant side over two legs, but came away not winning it. 

‘You never know what’s going to happen, but I think Bolton are favourites going in. It’s going to be a really fascinating game, but I certainly think Bolton will fancy themselves.’

It’s been a managerial baptism of fire in English football for Buckingham, after he was named Liam Manning’s successor last November.

After coaching in New Zealand and India it proved a tough start for the 39-year-old at the Kassam Stadium, as Oxford’s strong early-season form dramatically tailed off.

Buckingham’s side lost one of their final eight games, however, with Pompey’s final-day win at Lincoln helping them secure the final play-off berth.

Mousinho added: ‘Interestingly enough, when we talk about Des’ time so far and his first season over in England, it’s not been straightforward. He was under a lot of pressure two or three months ago.

‘I think there were quite a few Oxford fans as well, who were probably questioning the appointment. I know that myself, so for Des to come through that is fantastic credit to him.

‘He managed to block all that out, ignore the noise and get on with what has been a fantastic job towards the back end of the season.

‘The form going into this game (against Peterborough) and his form over the past seven or eight games has been fully deserving to be in the play-off final.’

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