'We had to break the mould': Portsmouth chief on the secret behind the Blues' remarkable transformation

Andy Cullen believes it was essential for Pompey to ‘break the mould’ in order to pursue ever-elusive promotion success.

Now the Blues are soaring nine points clear in the automatic spots with seven matches remaining as they eye returning to the Championship for the first time since 2012.

Since arriving from MK Dons in May 2021, the chief executive has overseen a remarkable reversal in fortunes both on and off the pitch for a club which had painfully stagnated.

At the heart of the transformation has been the appointment of Rich Hughes almost 18 months ago.

Upon Cullen’s arrival, Roberto Gagliardi had been serving as head of football operations on an interim basis since Kenny Jackett’s departure.

The subsequent decision to recruit a permanent sporting director in September 2022 was not well received by all - and similarly the shock choice of John Mousinho as head coach four months later.

Now Pompey are five points clear at the top of League One, having led the table for all but one week since mid-September.

Cullen told The News: ‘When we restructured the football operations to bring in a sporting director responsible for the implementation of longer-term football strategy, it wasn't just about this season, it’s next season and the season after that.

‘One of the first things I spoke to The News about when I arrived was creating an identity for this club and trying to get the culture absolutely right in terms of where the football club is heading.

‘We had a process when we recruited Rich and had a similar process with John - and we had to break the mould in both cases.

‘The club had never before employed a sporting director and, along with the head coach, we went for something that, in many people’s eyes, was a bit different - and it was.

‘When you bring change into any organisation - it doesn’t necessarily have to be a football club - there is always a little apprehension about what it means because everybody’s comfortable with the way they have always operated. That went with the head coach appointment as well.

‘We knew what we were looking for. The key thing was an alignment between head coach and sporting director that would be the ingredients for success. That has allowed John to be fully focused on coaching, training, match preparation and managing the recruitment of 24 players.

‘Now he doesn’t have to worry about the medical staff or the state of the pitches. It allows somebody else to identify the players which fit the identity - and then he works with Rich and the rest of the board in terms of who we go for.

‘The idea of a sporting director or director of football had already been discussed before my arrival, Tornante always wanted to have one. When I was appointed, it was very much left to me in terms of “What do you think?”.

‘I wanted a really good assessment of what’s in the building, what have you got? You’ve got to look at the dynamic, you have to get the role right.

‘Sporting directors mean different things around different clubs, you need to get the role and responsibilities right specifically for your own football club. We took a bit of time, but it became apparent within six months of that first season what exactly was needed.

‘We started the process at the back end of February 2022 and it took a bit of time to get there. But we ended up with a really, really positive result - and I’m very proud of what everybody has achieved so far.’

As sporting director, Hughes was pivotal in the appointment of Mousinho as Danny Cowley’s replacement in January 2023.

Certainly the judgement of the former Forest Green man and Cullen was questioned at the time - and likewise would have faced a backlash had the perceived gamble failed.

However, the ex-Oxford United defender has since amassed 37 wins and 10 defeats from his 69 matches in charge - with an outstanding win ratio of 53.62 per cent.

Cullen added: ‘To be successful, you must look at tomorrow and, sometimes, you have to break the mould sometimes to get there. Hopefully everybody can now see the benefits of what we are trying to achieve.

‘We have been really, really fortunate that that has all come together. That coordinated structure is absolutely crucial to enable future squad progression and maximising our resources towards long-term success.

‘You can talk about how much money you’ve got to spend on players and what the budget is, but, at the end of the day, it’s how well you maximise that and how well you recruit.

‘If you look at where we are on and off the pitch, there are some really good foundations in place.’