No Fratton Park panic from Andy Cullen as hunt to fill pivotal Portsmouth role carries on

And the Blues chief executive is adamant he will not be forced into a ‘knee-jerk appointment’ to fill the crucial vacancy.

Although previous incumbent Roberto Gagliardi departed at the end of February having served his notice, the position has still to be filled.

Pompey had identified Forest Green Rovers’ director of football Richard Hughes, yet a late change of heart over taking the position saw him instead opt to remain with the League One newcomers.

It means Cullen’s search continues – yet he insists there’s no panic at Fratton Park.

He told The News: ‘We are looking to get somebody into this position who has the track record in terms of being strong at recruitment, somebody who has really good experience in bringing young players through to add to the squad.

‘It’s somebody who has to want to come in and be prepared to commit themselves to Pompey for the long term. This is not an appointment for six months, one year, two years.

‘We want somebody to help shape the football club in all its different areas, somebody who has multi-disciplinary experience as well.

‘To find that candidate takes a bit of patience, it’s not about a short-term fix, it’s about the longer-term strategic direction in which the club needs to improve.

‘It’s a role that’s hugely, hugely important, if it takes time then so be it. The short-term we can deal with, it’s more about getting the long-term right.

‘If that takes a bit more time rather than getting a knee-jerk appointment then that’s fine, we will continue the pursuit of the right person for Portsmouth Football Club.

‘The most important thing is we get somebody who is going to move us to where we want to get to.’

Although the transfer window reopens on Friday, June 10, Pompey continue to be hard at work putting recruitment plans into place.

Meanwhile, Sean Raggett and Reeco Hackett have both signed new two-year deals to keep them at Fratton Park, while negotiations continue with Aiden O’Brien and Michael Jacobs.

And Cullen insists it’s business as usual, despite still to appoint a head of football operations.

He added: ‘We do not need to get the appointment desperately done because I don’t think it will have a huge impact on this summer’s business.

‘We have people in place, with a team of scouts out there feeding reports to Phil Boardman. Also, myself, Phil, Tony (Brown), Danny and Nicky meet regularly during the week.

‘Even when people are on holiday, we are still doing calls by Teams and Zoom so we are abreast of it, it hasn’t altered our process.

‘We are at different levels of discussions with players, agents and other clubs about what we want to do as well as those current players.

‘That process hasn’t been stymied in any way by the lack of somebody else in the building for the role.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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