Ex-Portsmouth and Birmingham man back in football after 6-month absence as non-leaguers pull off huge coup

The well-respected coach has linked up with Gosport to assist player/manager Danny Hollands in their Southern League Premier South campaign.

It marks a return to the area professionally, having quit as Pompey’s professional development phase coach in the summer of 2022 after becoming disappointed over progress under owners Tornante.

He subsequently joined Birmingham as Academy manager in November 2022, an appointment at a former club which was widely applauded by supporters at the time.

However, Daish departed St Andrew’s in September 2024, with a terse two-sentence message on X, formerly known as Twitter, announcing his exit.

Now the 56-year-old, who hails from Leigh Park and made three appearances for the Blues after coming through the ranks, has joined Gosport.

Hollands was appointed boss in January following the departures of joint-managers Pat Suraci and Joe Lea for Poole Town.

Since then, he has temporarily been assisted by football operations manager Mark Summerhill, yet has been on the lookout to add to his coaching team.

Daish fits the bill, with a Uefa A coaching licence and a wealth of experience, having managed the Hawks, Welling United, Ebsfleet and Nuneaton Town.

He returned to Fratton Park in 2017 to work in the Academy and spent five years on the south coast until becoming frustrated over the youth set-up’s direction.

Strong words for Pompey’s Academy

After quitting in the summer of 2022, he told The News at the time: ‘I am not here to criticise, castigate or anything like that, I will always give an honest approach.

‘All I am saying is I think there could have been more progression in the Academy of a club the size of Pompey.

‘I have seen the start of the new ownership with the Eisners and been through the subsequent five years - and it came to a brick wall where I’m thinking what has changed?

‘If you are going to have an Academy, believe in it, work at it. If you’re not and it’s just a box-ticking exercise, it’s always going to be difficult.’

He was initially replaced by Zesh Rehman, with Daish securing a prestigious role as Championship Birmingham’s Academy manager months later.

It reunited the ex-Republic of Ireland international with a club where he made 98 appearances and scored six times, while captaining them to the Division Two title in 1995 and also the Auto Windscreens Shields Trophy.

He’s also no stranger to the non-league scene either, having spent four years as joint-manager with Mick Jenkins at the Hawks.

Now he will provide assistance to Hollands, a fellow ex-Pompey player, aiming to improve on Gosport’s disappointing placing of 12th.

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