The reality of the uncertain futures faced by Portsmouth's key men

The 12 men whose Fratton deals come to a close this summer all find themselves currently in limbo, with their career paths waiting to be defined.

Skipper Tom Naylor, Andy Cannon, Jack Whatmough, Craig MacGillivray and Ryan Williams are among those waiting to find out their destiny.

They are joined by Ben Close, Haji Mnoga, Charlie Daniels, Jordy Hiwula, Bryn Morris, Duncan Turnbull and Taylor Seymour, who could all be in a footballing netherworld come the summer.

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A place in the Championship for their employers is the promised land - a terrain free from the shackles of the wage cap.

But another season in League One currently means the Blues operating to a £2.5m budget - and for many of those out of contract a drop in earnings to continue playing in the third tier.

Those with terms when the cap was voted in last summer were seen as earning the divisional average wage - around £1,750 per week - regardless of the details of their contracts.

The reality is many earn much more, but that won’t be the case if they remain in League One with Pompey next term.

Jackett pointed to the seismic change in the game as a result of the coronavirus pandemic being significant, with shorter-term deals for players becoming more prevalent.

But the Blues boss highlighted there’s a simple solution which should be a motivating force for those out of contract.

He said: ‘This year is quite unique in that it’s the first year of the salary cap and obviously the Covid situation.

‘Add to that clubs felt, at some stage, supporters would come back, but we’ve had two games where 2,000 were allowed in.

‘Will that change? It’s been said the national lockdown is until March 8 at least, so it’s difficult to see crowds coming in this season.

‘That does produce a lot of uncertainty and I, like everybody at every club, would like that to be a one-off just this year, things will settle and we can get crowds back in.

‘Is it realistic? I’m not sure, but it doesn’t look like it and the salary cap isn’t going to go away in League One.

‘With all of that up in the air, the contracts of players has got shorter definitely right across the board.

‘They (players and agents) know and are as aware as anybody of the situation because it’s their future.

It’s difficult, but the answer is to get to the Championship. That’s the answer to everything.

‘You have to see it as a good opportunity to go there and go on the journey. They can then ‘achieve their ambitions.

‘For the players, it’s the only way they can respond and respond positively.

‘You have to attack the situation and affect it positively. For them, it’s the only way they can do it.’

Pompey chief executive Mark Catlin has long championed an amendment to the salary cap, where players out of contract could be offered new deals on their existing terms.

We are moving closer to knowing whether that will happen after the EFL and Professional Footballers’ Association last month met for an arbitration hearing.

Jackett noted that whatever views are held over the cap, lower league clubs agreed to it.

And he can foresee a day when the Championship operates to similar constraints.

Jackett added: ‘Whether people have a good case or not the majority of clubs have voted for it.

‘From the EFL’s point of view if a majority of clubs want that, that’s where they have to go.

‘But even so in times and years to come even the Championship may get affected as well.

‘It’s a difficult one to call.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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