Pompey boss: It's not about jobs for the boys

Guy Whittingham welcomed back his old mate Alan Knight but insisted: This is not about jobs for the boys.

The Blues caretaker boss played alongside the club legend for many years at Fratton Park and brought him back as goalkeeping coach yesterday.

But Whittingham maintains the decision was not driven by friendship or sentimentality and has tasked the 51-year-old with overseeing the development of all the club’s goalkeepers and to work closely with both Simon Eastwood and Phil Smith.

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Whittingham said: ‘Alan is a good guy and everyone knows he’s got the club at heart. But more importantly, he’s going to do the job properly.

‘It’s not a case of being jobs for the boys and him coming in because we all used to play together.

‘He wants to work with all of the goalkeepers from the Academy right up to senior level, which is great.’

While Knight seemed an obvious candidate to make a return to the club in the wake of John Keeley’s departure to Blackburn, Whittingham was keen to assess his options.

He said: ‘He was always on the radar.

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‘I was just trying not to get too many people excited about it.

‘With him being a club legend, I thought it might take over before we all had time to think about it properly.

‘Alan has done the job before and he has done it very well. It’s great to have him back at the club.’