Incoming coach goes on scouting mission ahead of his Portsmouth arrival

Simon Bassey will officially begin his role at Pompey this morning, having left his post as Barnet manager to move to Fratton Park.

The ex-AFC Wimbledon coach arrives as a long-time friend of Cowley and bolsters a coaching staff left short following the departures of Joe Gallen, Jake Wigley and John Keeley.

Certainly, it’s a huge summer ahead for the Blues as they plot another League One promotion push.

With just 14 players under contract, plenty of fresh arrivals are expected and Pompey need to get their recruit spot-on if they’re to challenge for the Championship in the 2021-22 campaign.

However, Bassey instead of spending the weekend relaxing ahead of linking up with the Blues, he instead kept himself busy and went on a scouting mission.

On Saturday, the 45-year-old took in the action between Notts County and Chesterfield in the National League play-off quarter-finals.

The former AFC Wimbledon coach posted a photo of his whereabouts on Twitter, with the caption: ‘Never stops’.

Involved in the clash was Pompey's 2017 League Two title-winning skipper Michael Doyle, as well as former triallist Richard Brindley.

Notts County delivered a 3-2 success to set up a last-four clash with Torquay United next weekend.

However, should Bassey have been eyeing any possible summer recruits at Meadow Lane, he would have been looking at younger protagonists with the potential to develop on the south coast.

As reported, the Blues are in the market for non-league players this summer who can help supplement the squad after an academy player overhaul.

Teenager Liam Vincent became the first signing on the Cowley era from Bromley last week.

The left-back penned a three-year deal after arriving for an undisclosed fee.

Cowley's also stated that he wants a fledgling goalkeeper to come in after the exits of Craig MacGillivray, Duncan Turnbull and Taylor Seymour.

In terms of backroom staff, Cowley still needs to appoint a goalkeeping coach to replace Keeley, who’s since been reunited with Paul Cook at Ipswich.