A SPELL coaching on the sidelines has given John Mousinho a better perspective as he rejoins the playing squad.

The 34-year-old was back on the bench for Tuesday’s defeat at Charlton Athletic, six weeks on from suffering a knee injury against Watford.

Mousinho is likely to be in the squad again at Fleetwood Town tomorrow, but has used the time out productively.

To help his aspirations of moving into coaching at the end of his playing career, the defender has been part of Karl Robinson’s backroom staff.

And the prolonged stint on the other side of the fence has been enlightening for the club captain.

He said: “You realise how difficult it is as a coach to get your message across.

“When you’ve asked players to do something all week and they don’t do it, your immediate feeling is it’s a slight on you.

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“Sometimes players switch off, it just happens, that’s the level we’re at.”

Finding the right tone when things have not gone right has also been tricky.

“You think ‘I’ll hammer the lads now because that’s the best thing to do’,” he said.

“Then you remember when you were sat on the other side that when a manager’s hammering you, sometimes you think ‘all right, all right’, because you are trying.

“In 99 per cent of the dressing rooms I’ve been in, when you lose it’s not because players aren’t trying.

“Sometimes they’re just not good enough or have made mistakes, that’s the nature of football at any level.

“To accept that as a coach or a manager and lift the lads out of it is the key, trying to find the balance.

“It’s like parenting, not being a soft touch either.

“You have to find what individuals and the team responds to the best.”