The Portsmouth recruitment vision which stretches beyond January

Pompey are plotting a January transfer window raid '“ yet the true recruitment drive is earmarked for a considerably longer timeframe.
Tom Naylor has proven an excellent addition after Pompey did their recruitment early this summer. Picture: Joe PeplerTom Naylor has proven an excellent addition after Pompey did their recruitment early this summer. Picture: Joe Pepler
Tom Naylor has proven an excellent addition after Pompey did their recruitment early this summer. Picture: Joe Pepler

At midnight on January 1, clubs will once again be permitted to strengthen in pursuit of ambition often re-evaluated since the season's start.

In the instance of League One's leaders, bolstering a promising position is required rather than implementing frantic change.

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Now 15 months into his role as director of recruitment, Phil Boardman's ongoing talent search follows a long-term blueprint instead of patch-up jobs.

Tom Naylor has proven an excellent addition after Pompey did their recruitment early this summer. Picture: Joe PeplerTom Naylor has proven an excellent addition after Pompey did their recruitment early this summer. Picture: Joe Pepler
Tom Naylor has proven an excellent addition after Pompey did their recruitment early this summer. Picture: Joe Pepler

Certainly it was no coincidence that within five weeks of last season's end, Pompey had amassed five fresh additions '“ the culmination of intricate planning over Kenny Jackett's maiden campaign.

Of that quintet of new arrivals, Ronan Curtis, Craig MacGillivray, Tom Naylor and Lee Brown have established themselves as key components of a team topping the table since September.

Next month the Blues will once more move to reinforce their squad.

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Boardman, however, admits the vision extends much further into the distance.

Pompey boss Kenny JackettPompey boss Kenny Jackett
Pompey boss Kenny Jackett

He said: '˜It's very much an ongoing process, there isn't a start and an end point, we like to be planning now for a couple of windows time while we move into the January window.

'˜There's a lot of work, phone calls and watching of players which might help us in the next month '“ but really it could affect something in a couple of windows.

'˜That is what happened in the summer. There was a lot of work going on even before January last year, which meant we were prepared when that came around.

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'˜There is a lot of planning, so when the transfer window comes about you have enough information about players so it all hopefully knits together.

'˜We now have some decent scouting coverage, certainly across the UK and spreading out into Europe, Ireland and Scotland.

'˜These are areas we are keen to explore further and feel there are players there with value that will fit into our level of football and team.

'˜We have six or seven additional scouts watching games throughout the week and get reports in from different leagues, different players, different teams. Then it's my job to coordinate and see where to best employ them to follow-up those leads.

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'˜We have also taken on an additional full-time member of staff in the London area, so that gives us a greater presence around the south of England. 

'˜We are really pleased with the set-up, building on the work we did last season. Hopefully it can go stronger and stronger and we make better decisions.'

Since Boardman's September 2017 appointment, there have been other additions to Pompey's recruitment set-up.

Roberto Gagliardi arrived as head of European scouting in March, with former Blues assistant Kevin Bond joining to focus on the talent search closer to home.

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Last summer yielded 10 new signings, of which four are on loan deals, among them the popular Ben Thompson.

Certainly the hit ratio over that period has been impressively high, aiding the creation of a side which presently tops League One.

Boardman added: '˜I'm sure we are not going to get every one right, but the main thing is hopefully we have a relatively balanced squad.

'˜Certainly in terms of the age of players and positions covered, you want to allow the manager plenty of options on the Saturday, not only for his first XI but for his 18-man squad.

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'˜In that respect, the main thing is adding a little bit of depth compared to last year.

'˜The two transfer windows we had previously '“ and a season in League One '“ gives you a bit more of a foothold and understanding in knowledge about the players in the market, so we prepared for last summer.

'˜Transfers were worked on as early as possible to give us the best possible chance of a good start. It gave us plenty of time to work with the new players coming into the club.

'˜There were permanent signings of players out of contract which we knew were going to be available. If we can do that as early as possible then it will definitely help our planning, enabling them to be able to take part in all the pre-season games.

'˜That's the sensible thing, getting them used to the club and the rest of the team so they can hit the ground running '“ giving them the best possible chance of doing well.'