EFL pundit delivers verdict on Portsmouth’s managerial situation | OneFootball

League One club Portsmouth are “desperate” for a new manager to come in and bring stability back to the club, according to EFL pundit Jackie Mackie.

Pompey were beaten once again at the weekend, as they lost to Bolton Wanderers for the second time in a week after being defeated by the Trotters in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday.

The 3-0 defeat to Bolton leaves the South Coast side in 15th place in the table and now nine points adrift of the play off places with 23 games left to play in League One.

Portsmouth are still continuing their pursuit of a new manager after the sacking of Danny and Nicky Cowley over a week ago.

Mackie believes the long wait for the club to appoint a new manager isn’t helping the team. Interim boss Simon Bassey has now taken charge of three matches, but has lost all three, with Pompey exiting the FA Cup after a 1-0 defeat to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, before the recent defeats against Bolton.

Mackie has stated that he feels that Pompey need to resolve the manager situation sooner rather than later as they look to get back into play off contention.

He told ITV4’s EFL highlights show: “No, it has not been a happy hunting ground for them [at Bolton], but Bolton have been impressive and were clinical as they took their chances.

“They [Portsmouth] are desperate for a new manager to come in and they need that to get a bit more stability back into the football club and get themselves on a run because they have only had one win in 15. But I was really impressed with Bolton.”

Quiz: What club do these 15 ex-Portsmouth academy players play for now?

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ADAM WEBSTER

NEWCASTLE BRIGHTON

The Verdict

This is the problem when any club makes a managerial decision midway through the season. It seems Portsmouth did this on the grounds that they knew they needed a change but didn’t have a manager already lined up.

The League One side have been struggling for a while now, and with fans signing about returning to League Two on Saturday, there is a lot of disharmony at the club at this moment in time. So you can understand Mackie’s thoughts, as the club does need a manager to come in and get the club believing once again, bringing some stability and positivity back to Fratton Park.