Wycombe Wanderers boss Matt Bloomfield has praised his opposite number in John Mousinho ahead of this weekend’s match against Portsmouth.

It will be the first time they will go head-to-head in the dugouts as managers, with the two being former teammates at Adams Park.

Mousinho spent two years with Wanderers between 2008 and 2010, where he played 79 across all competitions and scored three goals.

READ MORE: 'We’ve got an idea of what we want to do' - Bloomfield on planning Wycombe's future

He was also part of the team that earned the Chairboys promotion into League One in 2009 after a five-year absence, but the club were relegated back down into the fourth tier just one season later.

Speaking on Mousinho, Bloomfield said: “Away at Fratton Park is never easy, and John has done a brilliant job since he took over there.

“John has gone on a brilliant journey since we played together all those years ago.

"It’s funny because we’ve seen each other several times recently. 

“I met him watching Spurs U21s vs Man City U21s at Stevenage, at Oxford vs Cheltenham last week, along with Burton vs Cambridge on Tuesday night.

READ MORE: 'I underestimated the depth' - Wycombe owner Rob Couhig on Wanderers' signings

“He is putting in the hard yards in like myself, and he is someone that I think highly of.

“He’s a great person and I hope he’ll do a great job at Portsmouth, but not on Sunday.”

On getting the players geared up in what his has been described as a ‘dead rubber’ by both sets of fans, Bloomfield added: “It shouldn’t be hard to motivate the players as we want to win and finish as high as we possibly can.

“You need to be desperate to win no matter what the occasion is.”