Why Paul Doswell turned down approach to manage one of Portsmouth's League One rivals to remain with Hawks

The Hawks boss was informed of an approach from a third tier club interested in taking him and assistant Ian Baird by chief executive Stuart Munro earlier this season.

However, Doswell insisted the potential opportunity to take charge of one of Pompey's league rivals was not something he really considered.

The former Eastleigh and Sutton boss has remained in the non-league throughout his more than 20 years as a manager.

Although admitting it was 'nice' to learn of interest in him from a Football League club, Doswell said there was 'no chance' he was going to leave the Hawks - where he's now signed a new three-year deal keeping him at the club until the end of the 2023/24 season.

Both he and his long term assistant Baird run successful property development and scaffolding businesses respectively outside of football - and Doswell stressed he's never really had a driving ambition to manage in the EFL.

The Hawks boss said: ‘The club got approached by a league club and asked if we’d be available - the two of us - it’s not the first time, obviously, I was approached at Sutton from time to time.

‘I’ve always made it very clear that I also run a successful business so does Ian - he’s got a scaffolding business - and we’ve always enjoyed managing at the best non-league level we can.

‘To be honest, being a manager in league football has never really floated my boat, I’ve always loved non-league football and I’ve often said that.

‘When the offer came in it was nice, but from our point of view there was no chance we were going to leave the football club.

‘It was nice to get the approach but I’ve had approaches many times before and I’ve done exactly the same.’

A few weeks later CEO Munro then received an approach from a National League club for the services of the Hawks boss.

But, again, Doswell did not entertain the idea of departing Westleigh Park.

Instead, both he and Baird remain focused on achieving promotion into the National League with Hawks.

Doswell said: ‘There was a National League club but, again, if we’re not going to go to a League One club - the offer was from a League Once club - then we’re not going to leave.

‘I got the phone call from Stuart, I spoke to Bairdy, he came round to my house and we probably talked more about Havant and what was going right and wrong then we did about us ever leaving.

‘We’ve got established businesses and we both need to put our time and effort into that as well.'