Former Newcastle and West Ham player emerges as Portsmouth managerial candidate | OneFootball

Former Newcastle and West Ham United midfielder Kevin Nolan is in the running to replace Danny Cowley at Portsmouth.

That is according to The Telegraph, who report that the 40-year-old is a candidate for the post at Fratton Park.

Currently a coach at West Ham under David Moyes, getting the job at Fratton Park would be Nolan’s first step into full-time management.

Previously, though, the ex-Bolton man did hold player-manager posts with first Leyton Orient in 2016, and Notts County between 2017 and 2018.

During his time as player-coach at Orient, Nolan took charge of 15 matches in total, winning seven, drawing two and losing six of these to earn 1.53 points per match, as per Transfermarkt.

Nolan never actually turned out as a player for Notts County, but did manage them for 84 matches, guiding the club to a 5th place finish in League Two in 2017/18.

Portsmouth are seeking a new boss after relieving Danny Cowley of his managerial duties at Fratton Park.

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

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ADAM WEBSTER

NEWCASTLE BRIGHTON

The club currently sit 15th in the League One standings, nine points from both the play-off places and the relegation zone.

It has been reported today that Portsmouth are set to name their new head coach within 48 hours, as per The News.

The Verdict

This would certainly be an intriguing appointment for Portsmouth to make.

Although he has been coaching at a very high level of late, it has been quite some time since Kevin Nolan has been the main man in the dug out.

Couple that with the fact he has not managed at League One level before and this could be deemed somewhat of a risky appointment.

It will certainly be interesting to see if he is the selection, with other, perhaps better, and certainly more recently experienced options out there for the club.