Portsmouth and Sheffield United relegation rivals set to appoint former Glasgow Rangers boss as manager
Pompey rivals Norwich City have found a replacement for sacked boss Liam Manning
Pompey relegation rivals Norwich City are closing in on their next managerial appointment.
Ten days after sacking Liam Manning following their 10th Championship defeat of the season against Leicester, the Canaries are poised to name former Glasgow Rangers boss Philippe Clement as his successor.
The 51-year-old’s appointment is expected to be announced on Tuesday, with the Belgian tasked with getting the Carrow Road outfit out of trouble at the wrong end of the table and climbing the standings.
Ahead of their game at Birmingham City on Saturday, Norwich sit second from bottom and four points from safety. Sandwiched between Sheffield Wednesday (24th) and Sheffield United (22nd) in the relegation zone, they are also five points adrift of Pompey, who play host to Millwall at the weekend.
The Blues are one of just two teams the Canaries have beaten this season in the league, with that 2-1 win at Fratton Park coming on August 16. Their last win came against Blackburn on August 30.
The decision to sack Manning - who was only appointed in the summer on a four-year deal - came after Norwich lost seven of his last eight games in charge.
The former Bristol City boss was the Championship’s third managerial sacking of the season, with Swansea following Norwich’s lead last week when they parted company with Alan Sheehan.
Who is Philippe Clement?
Clement will arrive at Carrow Road having been out of work since his Rangers departure in February. At the time, the Ibrox outfit were 13 points behind Celtic in the race for the Scottish Premiership title.
The former Monaco boss was dismissed after just 498 days in charge and is Rangers’ fifth shortest-serving permanent manager.
However, he did win the Scottish League Cup during his time north of the border. Meanwhile, Club Brugge (2) and Genk both won the Belgian league title under his leadership.
Former Blackburn and Sweden boss John Dahl-Tomasson was believed to be the front-runner for the Carrow Road job until he withdrew himself from the process on Monday night.
Gary O’Neil was also reportedly spoken to by the Canaries.
Norwich’s next five games are against Birmingham (A), Oxford (H), QPR (H), Watford (A) and Sheffield United (A). Pompey travel to Carrow Road on April 3.