Portsmouth title favourite delivers latest blow to Football League's crisis club with shock departure

The Robins are languishing third from bottom of League Two, having won one of their last eight league fixtures, while fan protests against their owner are planned.

They have also been hit by a flurry of departures behind the scenes in recent weeks, including head of football Jamie Russell and head of media and communications Henry Port.

In addition, Ian Holloway replaced short-lived head coach Mark Kennedy in October - almost four years since his last managerial job at Grimsby.

Now Pompey 2016-17 League Two title winner Danny Rose has quit as Swindon’s youth development phase lead coach after just 11 months in the job.

Swindon described his surprise departure from their Academy as ‘for professional reasons’, nonetheless it represents another set-back for the strugglers and under-fire owner Clem Morfuni.

Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, Rose said: ‘After much consideration I’ve decided to leave my role as Youth Development Phase Lead Coach at Swindon Town.

‘There are some amazing people working at that football club. I wish those guys the very best in the future. This has been an incredibly hard decision.

‘More than that, I’ll miss the players! There are some fantastic young players coming through the academy and they all have a bright future ahead of them. Growing connections with them all has been a brilliant experience and one I’ll look back on with great pride.

‘If you’re qualified and passionate about developing young players and coaches then please use this link to apply for the vacant role.

‘It’s important the right person takes over this role as it’s so important to a young player's journey. Thank you, Swindon.’

Rose has this season been combining his Swindon commitments with working for Pompey+ on their live match-day programme, alongside the likes of Andy Awford, Paul Hardyman and Paul Robinson.

As a player, he joined the Blues in June 2017 and the central midfielder helped them win the League Two title under Paul Cook.

He totalled 64 appearances and five goals before leaving for Swindon in January 2019, later playing for Grimsby, Darlington and Cleethorpes.

Meanwhile, Swindon fan action group, The Spirit of 69, are demanding owner Morfuni sells the club and are planning ‘peaceful and non-obtrusive’ protests on December 21.

They climbed off the bottom of League Two last weekend following a 3-1 victory over Fleetwood, yet remain in deep relegation trouble.