Danny Cowley set to become Portsmouth manager; the ex-Lincoln boss has been out of work since he was sacked by Huddersfield last year; Pompey are 10th in the Sky Bet League One table and parted ways with Kenny Jackett on Sunday, a day after they lost the Papa John’s Trophy final
Former Lincoln and Huddersfield Town boss Danny Cowley has verbally agreed a deal with Portsmouth to become their new manager on a contract that will initially run until the end of the season.
Cowley and his brother Nicky, who will also head to the south-coast, have been out of work since July 2020 when they were sacked by Huddersfield.
It is expected the deal will be confirmed on Thursday, however they will not be able to take training immediately as they have to submit negative Covid-19 tests before being allowed into the Portsmouth “bubble.”
Cowley had previously managed Concord Rangers and Braintree Town before taking charge of Lincoln in 2016.
He steered the Imps back to the Football League when winning the National League in 2016-17, a season where they also reached the FA Cup quarter-finals.
A year later, they won the EFL Trophy and finished seventh before then securing promotion to League One when finishing as League Two champions in 2018-19.
Cowley left Lincoln to become Huddersfield boss in September 2019, a spell which lasted less than a year with the Terriers finishing the season just three points above the Championship relegation spots.
The 42-year-old’s appointment at Portsmouth would see him replace Kenny Jackett, who departed his role as first-team manager of the Sky Bet League One side on Sunday, a day after they lost the Papa John’s Trophy final to Salford on penalties.
The club’s chief executive Mark Catlin said in a statement: “Portsmouth Football Club would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Kenny for the work he has done during his near four-year spell at the club and we all wish him well for the future.”
Since taking charge at Fratton Park in the summer of 2017, Jackett had led Portsmouth to finishes of eighth, fourth and fifth in League One.
His highlight as Pompey boss came in 2019 when he led the club to win the EFL Trophy at Wembley Stadium.
Portsmouth are currently 10th in League One and just three points outside of the play-offs with two games in hand over Gillingham and Ipswich above them.
