Simon Bassey: I managed Portsmouth against Spurs and Bolton Wanderers - and haven't worked since. But I'm happy

Simon Bassey has just returned from a visit to his Alicante apartment, a necessary journey to take delivery of a new sofa.

With current temperatures of 24 degrees in La Zenia, Spanish weather still embraces sunbathing at this time of year, although chilly evenings are not quite as welcoming.

The 47-year-old’s diary is flexible these days, able to accommodate such impromptu trips abroad. After all, he hasn’t worked after managing Pompey.

A year has passed since serving as the Blues’ caretaker boss following the dismissal of head coach Danny Cowley and brother Nicky in January 2023.

Bassey’s spell consisted of a heartening FA Cup third-round visit to Spurs and venturing to Bolton twice in four days, albeit all three fixtures ending in defeat.

Then he was gone, a casualty of John Mousinho’s new regime  - and, 12 months on, Pompey’s former first-team coach is still hunting for his next challenge in football.

‘I’ve not done a lot in the last year, had a bit of time off, spent some time at my place in Spain, and watched games,’ Bassey told The News.

‘Really for me, I don’t need football to earn a living, it’s something I choose to do, it’s a passion, I love it. I’ve never done it for money, if I did I wouldn’t want to be in the game, I can earn outside it through property and bits and pieces.

‘If I go back into football, it will certainly be on my terms. I wouldn’t say I have been stung from experiences, but I’m pretty straight and very honest, so I expect everybody else to be the same.

‘I like telling the truth, just tell the truth as much as you can, be honest with people and they will be honest with you, it works out much better in the end. There are things you can’t always say, but get as near as you can be, just be honest, it saves everyone a lot of heartache.

‘I’m looking at being a manager and, should the right opportunity come along working for the right people, I would love to be back involved - but it would have to be right.

‘I am good with people, I see people pretty quickly, I know what they are and what they aren’t, what they can do and can’t do, how they want to be treated, how they need to be treated. I have a good eye for that.

‘I looked in the summer to see if there was anything right for me. I’ve had a couple of job interviews that I thought might be worth going to. I’ve had a couple of job interviews I haven’t got. I’ve had one or two I probably could have got, but decided against it.

‘You hope the right opportunity comes because football is a passion of mine, it’s what I love. In the meantime, I go to games, watch players, go into some clubs where I have a lot of friends and contacts and watch training.

‘I’m generally keeping busy and maintaining an eye on the game, hoping for the right opportunity.’

Following Danny Cowley’s permanent appointment as Pompey head coach in the summer of 2021, he turned to Bassey to serve on a new-look backroom staff.

The former Wimbledon first-team coach had ended the season in charge of Barnet, impressing sufficiently on a short-term deal to be offered the non-league job on a longer basis.

However, the lure of working at Fratton Park, albeit in a coaching position, was too strong to ignore and, in June 2021, he linked-up with the Cowleys, establishing himself as a highly popular figure among players and staff.

It was a partnership severed 18 months later with the Blues languishing in 15th in League One and seven points clear of the relegation zone, following three months without a league win.

With the Cowleys departing, Bassey took the reins temporarily, assisted by first-team development coach Lorenzo Dolcetti and goalkeeping coach Joe Prodomo, while lead professional development phase coach Zesh Rehman was promoted to the first-team set-up.

Bassey added: ‘Danny and Nicky losing their jobs was disappointing because we'd started the season really well. Then our performances dropped off and we picked up far too many injuries.

‘You won’t find anyone anywhere who works as hard as them. They’re workaholics, they don’t want to leave a stone unturned. No-one could ever accuse them of not putting enough into it.

‘Danny demands the boys work hard, it’s what the fans want. He puts everything he’s got into it and expects everyone else to do the same - and he’s not wrong.

‘In July 2022, we went to Murcia, Spain, for a hard-working pre-season trip. Crawley Town were at the same hotel and on a summer holiday. They were sunbathing around the pool or out shopping.

‘Football's a job you’re really, really lucky to be in, so don’t ever treat it like a holiday. We were there to work, our players were given 2-3 sessions every day. Whereas Crawley had one session when it got dark or cooler. Each to their own.

‘If you looked at the shape of the players in the hotel that week, you could tell who played for Pompey and who played for Crawley, just by walking around the swimming pool.

‘Yet in the season, ultimately we fell short. We didn’t do well enough in those final 10 league games to earn the right to stay. The results hadn’t been good enough and you get moved on, that’s just the way it is.

‘Then I was put in charge - and I loved it. Since leaving Wimbledon as first-team coach, I wanted to be a manager, that was where I saw the next step for me. I had a spell as boss at Barnet and was in the middle of doing a deal to stay there when I got a call to come to Pompey. I wasn’t turning that down.

‘When I took over as caretaker, the state of the squad wasn’t overly healthy - mentally and physically - we had to do a lot of juggling that first week.

‘They put in such an effort against Totttenham, for Bolton we had to change the team again because some couldn’t do three games in a week. Josh Griffiths was recalled by West Brom, so we had to put young Josh Oluwayemi in, Michael Morrison was negotiating his departure for Cambridge United.

‘Josh Koroma’s loan ended, Marlon Pack was suspended, there was so much going on, but that’s coaching. You look at what you’ve got in front of you and try to get the best out of it.’

On January 7, 2023, Bassey oversaw Pompey’s FA Cup trip to Spurs, roared on by 8,880 travelling fans revelling in a maiden visit to a stadium opened in 2019.

Belief in the Blues was partially restored courtesy of a gutsy 1-0 defeat, with Harry Kane netting a second-half winner, representing the Premier League club’s only shot on target over the entire match.

Certainly Pompey - and the impressive Zak Swanson - emerged from the fixture with more credit than their hosts, with some supporters on social media even championing Bassey for the job permanently.

‘In all honesty, I’m not sure I would have picked any of the Pompey teams I did during those three matches, but that was basically all we had fit,’ laughed the Wimbledon-based Bassey.

‘Although the Tottenham people were really complimentary about how we set ourselves up, how well it worked, and how hard it was for them to break down.

‘I spoke to Antonio Conte after the game and he was praising us on our defensive low block. He knows a thing or two about them, so it must have been all right!

‘In all honesty, if you had said you were going to lose 1-0 and be in the game all the way, everyone would have taken that beforehand. We defended really well, our shape was good, we offered nearly moments on the counter-attack, while there were a few set-pieces we couldn’t get the most of.

‘That was pride for me and certainly the supporters were proud of their team. I had the players in a huddle on the pitch afterwards and spoke to them about that.

‘I told them: “This is what you are capable of, this is what the fans want to see, they want to see hard work, they want to see 100 per cent commitment, they want to see effort, they want to see you crawling off the pitch”. To a man, they did that that day. I was really proud of the players and the supporters.

‘Zak Swanson was faultless that game, he had Heung-Min Son and Ryan Sessegnon on that side of the pitch, top operators, and didn’t give Son a kick. He's a talented lad, these are the performances he is capable of, but consistency's the key for these young players.

‘I would imagine every scout worth their salt would have travelled to Bolton the following Tuesday night to see if Zak was as good as he was on the Saturday. This is their challenge, a lot of boys who play in the lower levels are capable of brilliant performances, the key is to repeat these consistently, which gets you to play at the better levels.

‘As it was, Zak had to come off after 64 minutes at Bolton because he couldn’t physically manage it, the load was a lot for him. These boys have come out of under-23s football, sometimes they struggle with it.

‘A lot of that season when he did play, he didn’t finish games and certainly didn’t back them up. That is the key, the robustness and durability to back those up at a good level.’

Following successive losses at Bolton, firstly in the Papa John’s Trophy and then League One, Bassey prepared the Blues for the visit of Exeter to Fratton Park and conducted pre-match press duties.

However, early on Friday morning, he was informed John Mousinho had been appointed head coach, and, after 18 days as caretaker boss, his time at Fratton Park had ended.

Little over 24 hours later, Pompey’s 2-0 win over the Grecians marked a first league victory since October and a perfect start for the new man at the helm.

A year on, Mousinho has won 29 of his 58 matches in all competitions, losing 10, while continuing to remain long-time League One leaders in a remarkable transformation.

As for Bassey, he’s waiting patiently for his next job in football.

He added: ‘Up until 9pm on Thursday night I was being told I was taking the Exeter game, so had organised training for the Friday. Then I got a call at 6.30am the next day, pretty much saying come and get your boots.

‘That was disappointing, I’d put a lot of work into that week to set the team up for a positive result. It was pretty much the side which won, I can’t remember many shocks when I saw the team the next day.

‘I sought John out when I arrived at the training ground to get my stuff and wished him all the best. He and Jon Harley were on my Uefa A Licence course. I wouldn’t say we hung around in the same circles on the course, he pretty much kept himself to himself, buthe played against my teams for a long time and is a nice guy.

‘I've been in football for a long time, I’ve coached for 17 years, that’s 850-900 games as a first-team coach, there’s a lot of experience there. I’ve seen a lot, I have been around a lot, and it has to be right for me because I put everything I’ve got into what I do every day.

‘Ultimately, management is what I really want to do next if it’s going to be anything in football. I’m looking at opportunities in League Two and National League at the moment. If I’m going to get a chance, I think it will be at those levels.

‘Danny and Nicky have just gone into Colchester, but for me to go there as well just doesn’t work, there’s not the money there, while it’s one hour and 40 minutes from my house.

‘They haven’t asked me, but we had those conversations before they got jobs, we’ve talked about what we see going forward. If it was feasible, I’m pretty sure they would ask me to go there, but I am also pretty sure they know where it is.

‘I can be really proud of what I have achieved in the game. Is it finished? I hope not, but we’ll have to see.'