Former Portsmouth manager Steve Cotterill sets sights on return to management after health scare

The former Pompey boss admitted he would welcome a move back to the dugout – should the right job become available.

Cotterill has been out of work since his Birmingham sacking in March 2018.

The 55-year-old is also now back to full health after rupturing a disc in his neck.

Cotterill, who spent 19 months in charge of Pompey after being appointed in June 2010, is now determined to deliver a sixth career promotion for the ‘right people’.

He told Gloucestershire Live: ‘Now I am fit and healthy I want to get back in and work for the right people.

‘I still have the energy and the hunger, which is why I am in the gym so much and I miss management every single day.

‘I am a football nut and the level doesn’t matter to me. I went to Notts County in League Two.

‘When I went to Bristol City we were second from bottom of League One and actually went bottom after my first game.

‘I rarely apply for jobs because nine out of 10 of them may already be done and dusted these days and a lot goes on with agents having connections.

‘I might be 55, but I feel quite young for it and as I said, I’ve been so lucky with my health.

‘I want to add to my five promotions, but I also have a hunger for developing young players.’

Cotterill revealed how he returned to his gym regime just two-and-a-half weeks after treatment for his neck injury.

That’s despite the 55-year-old being advised to take six weeks away from from his exercise routine.

Cotterill added: ‘I ruptured a disc in my neck and it set me back for a few months because I needed a period of rehabilitation.

‘The specialist went in through my throat, the thought of which made me panic a bit when he told me, and put a new disc in.

‘He told me I’d need six weeks off from the gym, but I was back at it within two-and-a-half. I wasn’t sleeping and I have never been one to take painkillers, but I needed strong ones.

‘The discomfort had been there for a long time and then suddenly got worse, so I feel great now having had it repaired.’

Cotterill guided Pompey to a 16th-placed Championship finish in his sole full season as manager in 2010-11.

The Blues had exited administration prior to his appointment.

But financial struggles remained for much of Cotterill’s 19-month stint at the club.

He resigned from his role as Pompey boss in October 2011 to take charge of Nottingham Forest.