Lincoln boss Michael Appleton would love a return to Portsmouth as manager

That’s the verdict of Blues’ chief sports writer, Neil Allen, in the latest edition of Pompey Talk, which you can download HERE.

Kenny Jackett’s men are preparing to face Lincoln next Tuesday, who are managed by the man who spent a year in charge at Fratton Park from 2011.

Allen rates that tenure as the toughest period any Pompey manager had in charge of the club, as owner Vladimir Antonov was arrested on bank fraud charges two weeks after he took over with administration following.

Appleton is now overseeing an outstanding start to the season for the Imps, as they top the table with seven wins and a draw from nine games.

But Allen feels Appleton’s affinity with Pompey means he would one day love to return at boss.

He said: ‘Appy is a great bloke. For me, he perhaps had the hardest job of any Pompey manager in history really, which is quite a bold claim.

‘The mess of the club collapsing into administration and (Balram) Chainrai sniffing around. He had a torrid time.

SUBSCRIBE today for the latest Pompey updates

‘He’s got so much affection for the club and would love to be back one day. He’d probably not admit if publicly, but he’d love to be back here one day.

‘He had such a horrible time at Pompey and it got too much for him in the end.

‘He was coaching the team in the morning then going to Fratton Park with (administrator) Trevor Birch and trying to sell the club to prospective owners.

‘He was a football manager and he was trying to sell the club every day. It was ridiculous and got on top of him, so he left.’

The manner in which Appleton left Pompey for Blackpool in 2012 is remembered by fans, as he denied talks were taking place after a 1-0 defeat against Brentford before being announced boss at Bloomfield Road the next day.

Allen feels there may be some regret from the rookie manager at the way he handled his exit, but he was put in an impossible situation at Fratton.

He added: ‘It was a terrible way to leave and I’ve described it as grubby many times.

‘He left in the middle of the night effectively - he was gone!

‘I think he does (regret the way he left), but I think the whole situation got too much for him at Fratton Park.

‘He’d been ground down for a year after arriving with promises of a new ground and training ground.

(Roman) Dubov and Antonov were there and things collapsed within weeks.

‘Then (Balram) Chainrai gave him a budget and slashed it by half. There was a transfer embargo and all sorts.

‘The players liked him, though, and he’s one of football’s good guys - he just came to Pompey at the wrong time.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

The News has launched a new subscription offer which gives you unlimited access to all of our Pompey coverage.

You can subscribe here to get the latest news and transfer updates from Fratton Park - and to support our local team of expert Pompey writers.