Next Portsmouth Manager Odds

Portsmouth are on the lookout for a new manager following the sacking of Danny and Nicky Cowley after a run of results that saw the Fratton Park club win just one of their last 14 matches.

Pompey are currently 12th in the table with 31 points from 22 matches, seeing them sit nine points above the relegation zone and nine points behind the play-off places.

During their time at Portsmouth, the Cowley brothers managed the club for a total of 97 matches, winning 42, drawing 27 and losing 28, finishing with a 43.3% win percentage.

Recently sacked Wigan Athletic manager Leam Richardson is the bookmakers’ favourite for the Portsmouth job.

The 43-year-old had done a good job at Wigan Athletic, having saved the club from relegation in League One 2020/21 following financial troubles, before getting the Latics promoted to the Championship last season as they won the league title.

But, following a run of six losses in seven games this season, seeing Wigan sit in the Championship’s relegation zone, Richardson was sacked last month to the disappointment of many Wigan fans - notably, results on the pitch haven’t improved since his departure.

Richardson ended his time at Wigan with 49 wins and 30 draws from 117 matches across all competitions, equating to a 42% win rate.

Despite being sacked by MK Dons on 11th December, Liam Manning is also in with a shout of getting the managerial vacancy at Portsmouth according to the bookmakers.

MK Dons missed out on automatic promotion by just one point in Manning’s first season in charge (2021/22) before losing out in the play-offs. During his first season at Stadium MK, Manning won EFL League One Manager of the Month in both September and January.

The 37-year-old was sacked by MK having seen his side accumulate just 15 points from 20 matches which is in stark contrast to that of his first campaign in charge. Overall, Manning finished his time at MK Dons with a 48% win percentage, having won 40 and drawing 15 of his 83 matches in charge.

Prior to his role at the Dons, Manning had been West Ham’s Under 23s head coach between 2015 and 2019 before joining City Football Group, where he would take up coaching roles at New York City FC, which then lead to him being transferred over to Belgian second-tier side Lommel SK as head coach between 2020 and 2021 - Manning would lead them from bottom of the table to a third-place finish in his only season at the club.

Current Port Vale manager Darrell Clarke is rumoured to be in consideration for the role at Fratton Park following a superb spell at Vale Park.

When the 45-year-old took over Port Vale back in February 2021, they were 18th in League Two, before leading them to a 13th-place finish, picking up manager of the month in March 2021. On top of this, he oversaw Vale’s promotion to League One via the play-offs last season as they beat the likes of Swindon and Mansfield, proving just how quickly things can turn around.

Prior to what was a fairly average managerial spell at Walsall between May 2019 and February 2021 where he won just 25 of his 76 matches in charge, Clarke had been manager of Bristol Rovers, where he actually oversaw their relegation out of the Football League, taking over as manager in late March of 2014, however, his next two seasons were a major success, as the Pirates won the National League play-offs, before earning automatic promotion from League Two.

Lee Bowyer is also rumoured to be on Portsmouth’s shortlist to replace Cowley.

The 45-year-old has plenty of managerial experience having managed the Addicks between March 2018 and 2021, winning 64 and drawing 37 of his matches in charge, leading them to promotion to the Championship back in 2018/19 via the play-offs.

Following his spell at Charlton, Bowyer decided to return to his former club Birmingham City in March 2021, where he had a less successful spell with the then cash-strapped club. Bowyer oversaw just 17 wins in 59 matches until the end of his reign in July.

Chris Wilder is also on the lookout for a new job having been sacked by Middlesbrough earlier on this season.

The 55-year-old won 18 of his 45 matches in charge at the Riverside Stadium with his record being significantly worsened following a run of two wins in his last 11 matches which left Boro in the relegation zone. However, despite this setback, Wilder will be fondly remembered for times at other clubs he has managed.

Notably, Wilder took Sheffield United to the Premier League via finishing as runner-up in the Championship during the 2018/19 season, this was after winning League One with the Blades in 2016/17. On top of this, he has also managed promotions with the likes of Alfreton Town, Oxford United and Northampton Town.

The final manager on this list is Neil Warnock, who at the grand age of 74, has said that he’d consider managing Portsmouth till the end of the season, calling them a “fabulous club”.

Warnock is a legendary coach of the English Football League, having earned a record eight promotions, while also managing 15 different clubs.

His last managerial role came at Middlesbrough between June 2020 and November 2021, where he won 29 of his 75 matches in charge, before being sacked and replaced by Wilder, while his last promotion came with Cardiff City in 2017/18, finishing as shock runners-up in the Championship.