Should They Stay?

Last updated : 20 March 2013 By Jim Bonner

With other football clubs sacking their managers left, right and centre you have to wonder what will be in store for Pompey's caretaker management duo at the end of the season.

Providing the Trust takes over, the individuals in power (whoever they may be) will have a huge decision to make in the summer on who will be appointed as manager of our football club on a permanent basis.

Guy and Andy are surely to be considered as candidates for the position but do they deserve the chance to lead Pompey in the fourth tier of English football next season?

The bare facts are not good. Their record since Michael Appleton's departure in November reads: Played 23, won 2, drawn 7 and lost 14. That's 13 points from a possible 66 and a meagre win percentage of 8.7%.

Indeed, whilst Pompey were on that dismal run of 24 games without a win  large proportion of fans would have been happy to see Whittingham and Awford return to their previous roles at the end of the season.

However, when you take into account that they have overseen a dramatic overhaul of the playing squad and that Pompey's recent form has improved then there is a case for the duo to stay on for next season's League Two campaign.

The management deserve credit for replacing the mercenaries who were clearly here only for the money with players who had a point to prove whether they were forgotten veterans such as David Connolly and Patrick Agyemang or youth prospects who want to make a name for themselves in Jed Wallace and Dan Butler.

It was frustrating when Guy and Andy recruited countless players and changed the starting eleven for the sake of change but it seems those days are over and most Pompey fans would now have a good chance of naming the starting line-up for the Coventry match on Saturday.

The fact that Whittingham and Awford have managed to assemble something that has the makings of a competitive team after all the change this season deserves credit and the team has certainly improved in recent weeks.

A draw at top-of-the-table Doncaster was the latest good result with a performance to go with it since that milestone victory at Crewe that has seen Pompey restore some respect to its name, even if the club has now returned to the foot of League One after Bury's 2-0 win over Stevenage last night.

The football isn't too bad to watch, either. There are a fair few teams that like to play the "route one" game and whilst Pompey are certainly not guilty of resorting to that on occasion the players have shown they can play some good football, too.

All of this will make a good case for the two Portsmouth favourites to stay next season but there will be questions to answer on their legibility in the long term.

Would Pompey fans prefer to see someone in charge who knows League Two inside out? With a points deduction likely to be imposed on the club next season would any good manager at fourth tier level want the job anyway?

If not, do Guy and Andy have the powers of persuasion to keep the youngsters at the club and attract quality players to the squad (should there be the finances to do so).

The management are popular figures and every Pompey fan wants them to do well. If the team continues to improve and achieves a respectable finish after such a dismal campaign then that might be enough to persuade those in charge to give them the task of rebuilding the club next season.

But there will always be doubters who will point to the winless run and who will want to achieve promotion immediately after relegation. With other options out there it would be foolish not to consider them, with some already touting Gary Smith, sacked from Stevenage today, as a possible candidate for the job next season.

It's an important decision and I do not envy the people who have the final say, but the popular duo of "Whitts and Awfs" have given themselves some credentials with their recent good work and I don't think there will be too many dissenters if they were given the opportunity to turn this club around.