Portsmouth announce further coaching appointment as former Aston Villa and Derby man is rewarded

Hudson has made the step up from his assistant role, following Zesh Rehman’s permanent switch to join John Mousinho’s first-team coaching staff.

‘It’s an honour and a privilege to take on a position of real responsibility, although it’s something I’ve been doing on an interim basis for the past three months,’ said the former Aston Villa and Derby coach.

‘I’ve had the support of Greg Miller and James Barlow in their leadership roles, along with Jack the analyst, Jack our psychologist, Steve the goalkeeping coach, and Max the strength and conditioning lead.

‘There’s a real mix of experiences there and that will help me in my role, as well as the players we’re trying to develop.

‘I’m looking to put my ideas across in a syllabus that’s brand new and we’re creating new ways of working to bring us more success in the future.

‘We’ve all worked together over the past few months and have had a lot of short-term successes, so when we bring a new assistant in, we should be ready to hit the ground running.‘I’m also delighted for Zesh and he set his stall out early on this season in terms of getting our standards right.

‘I haven’t had to change anything in terms of how the under-18s work on a day-to-day basis because of the experience he brought in as an elite professional with coaching experience.

‘The players will have taken a lot with his sessions and his one-to-ones with them. It was really refreshing.

‘It was great for me to learn from him about how the academy and the first team can become a lot more closely connected.’

Academy manager Greg Miller said: ‘Sam joined our professional development coaching team at the start of the season and it very quickly became evident that his critical evaluation of the game and in-depth tactical analysis of the team structure were strong traits.

‘That has helped the under-18 players in their development and the team in achieving strong performances.

‘Sam and Zesh worked really well together and so when Zesh moved to the first team on an interim basis, we felt that Sam merited the opportunity to lead the under-18 team on an interim basis.‘A few months on, it has been clear to James Barlow and I that he has the capabilities of assuming the lead role on a permanent basis.

‘I am delighted that a degree of continuity for the players will be achieved through this promotion for Sam.‘James and I recognise that this also ensures the delivery of the coaching curriculum and development needs of the players are extremely well catered for.’

Hudson joined Pompey as assistant PDP Lead coach for the U18s in the summer of 2022.

He spent the 2021-22 season working at Aston Villa in the Youth Development Phase. Prior to that, he worked at Derby County for four seasons, with three seasons at Burton Albion, both in academy coaching roles.