Portsmouth boss lays on the line what's at stake with critical appointment

And the Blues boss has stressed what’s at stake with recruiting the right man to oversee the club’s on-pitch operations.

Cowley believes landing the correct candidate can potentially significantly accelerate the Blues’ growth in the short term.

But, with Pompey without anyone in that position since Roberto Gagliardi left the club in January, the 43-year-old feels time is ticking.

Cowley said: ‘We’re without a head of football operations, or whatever you want to call them, at the moment.

‘Behind the scenes Andy Cullen is working very hard to find the right person, because it’s a critical position for us as a club - particularly where we’re at, and the amount of work we have to do to develop the provisions to support the first team.

‘For us it’s a really important role and the sooner we can fill it the better.

‘This will rightly be a club decision, but we want someone who will be hard working who has the club’s best interests at heart.

‘This is such an exciting project.

‘There’s so much room for improvement at Portsmouth Football Club right now.

‘There’s so much scope and so many quick wins to be had, that if we find the right individual we will find ourselves on an upward curve really quickly.

‘There’s a lot of process we need to put in place in order to get to an elite way of working.

‘This is about driving the strategy of the football department, but also supporting the day-to-day football operation.

‘It’s a great role for someone. I know what this club could be if we get it right.’

Although the new head of football operations will have a far-reaching role, Cowley admitted it’s recruitment which has to be the pressing priority as he aims to avoid a repeat of last summer’s massive turnover of players - when 15 men arrived and 18 departed.

He added: ‘There is a big piece of that role which is linked to recruitment.

‘We want to put ourselves in a strong position to be able to recruit well this summer.

‘I think we’re in a much better position to recruit than last year. Last year I was still sitting at home in Lincoln at this stage!

‘We’re going to be in a much better position to recruit, but there’s certainly a lot of work to do and we’d like to try to get the right person in as quickly as we can and get aligned with that person and get a way of working as quickly as we can.

‘That will only help the football club and improve the opportunity to be successful in the summer window.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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