Danny Cowley: Portsmouth sack head coach after nine league games without victory
- Published
Danny Cowley (left) and his brother Nicky led Portsmouth to just one win since the start of October in League One
Portsmouth have sacked head coach Danny Cowley after a run of nine League One games without a win left them nine points from the play-off places.
His brother - and assistant - Nicky has also been sacked, with the pair spending 22 months at Fratton Park.
The former Lincoln and Huddersfield coaches had replaced Kenny Jackett.
They led Pompey to an eighth-placed finish in 2020-21 - missing out on the play-offs by two points - before guiding them to 10th last season.
"We are desperately disappointed that, following our recent run of results, we have today made the difficult decision to part company with Danny and Nicky," said chief executive Andrew Cullen.
"Both Danny and Nicky have given everything to Pompey, working so hard inside and outside of the training ground with a determination to bring success - not just to the football club, but to the city of Portsmouth and the wider community."
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In the 97 matches Cowley and his brother were in charge for, Portsmouth won 42 times and lost 28 games in all competitions.
With the club having reached the play-off semi-finals in the two campaigns prior to their appointment, the pressure was on to make the top six and push Pompey back towards the second tier after 11 years away.
But having missed out on a top-six finish for the next two seasons and winning just once in their past 14 League One games - a 1-0 win at Forest Green Rovers on 22 October - Portsmouth's ownership have decided to act with the club in 12th place.
"We must now look forward and with 24 league games still to play, we will focus all our efforts towards delivering the targets we set for this season," Cullen told the club website.
"The search for a new coaching team will commence immediately."
This season began well for the Cowley brothers, with Portsmouth joint top of League One at the end of September
Having played and managed in non-league football while also working as a PE teacher, Danny Cowley's big break came when he was appointed as Lincoln City manager in May 2016, with Nicky as his assistant, having guided Braintree Town to a historic third-placed finish in the National League.
During their time at Lincoln the Cowleys guided the Imps to promotions from the National League and League Two in their three full seasons in charge - as well as an FA Cup quarter-final against Arsenal in 2017, while they were a non-league club.
It led them to being some of the best-regarded young coaches in the EFL and they eventually moved to Championship side Huddersfield Town in September 2019 with the club 23rd in the Championship, having just been relegated from the Premier League.
But within 10 months they had been sacked, despite keeping the club up after 13 wins in 40 matches in all competitions.
Nine months later they were back in management and the pair had an instant effect after taking over at Fratton Park, as Portsmouth won their first four games with them at the helm.
But two wins and two draws in their final eight matches saw Pompey narrowly miss out on the play-offs.
Inconsistency dogged Portsmouth in their only full season in charge - runs of seven wins in eight and six wins in seven were tempered by a run of one win in 13 and six and five-game winless runs.
This season started superbly, with Pompey unbeaten until losing at Ipswich Town on 1 October.
But just one league win since then has ultimately cost the Cowley brothers their jobs a game short of the halfway mark in the club's season.
'No-one expected sacking so soon' - Analysis
Andrew Moon, BBC Radio Solent's Portsmouth commentator
The supporters were calling for Danny Cowley's sacking in the New Year's Day defeat at home to Charlton, but neither the players nor the media who cover the club were expecting it to happen so soon.
Michael Eisner has made it clear he is an owner who will be patient with managers, and stuck with Kenny Jackett for literally years longer than some fans wanted.
And chief executive Andrew Cullen gave a strong backing to Cowley in an interview with the Portsmouth News just before Christmas.
But Portsmouth's recent League One form is awful. The objective for the season was a top-six finish and Pompey are now nine points adrift of the play-off places.
Both inside and outside the dressing room there is the belief that the squad is talented enough to achieve that aim.
They have 24 games left to show if that view is correct.