Pompey ansetter sportsdirektør

Richard Hughes – ikke han som spilte for Pompey på 2000-tallet – er ansatt som sportsdirektør i Pompey.

NYHETER: 34 år gamle Richard Hughes begynner i jobben som sportsdirektør («Director of Sport») i Pompey i slutten på oktober.

Han kommer fra samme stilling hos vår divisjonskollega Forest Green Rovers. Hughes har hatt sportsdirektørjobben der i tre år (oktober 2019). Før det var han halvannet år ansvarlig for rekrutteringen («Head of Recruitment») i samme klubb.

I løpet av disse årene i Forest Green Rovers, ble det to ganger play-off i League Two før klubben rykket opp til League One i 2021/22 som mestere i League Two.

Pompey prøvde seg på Hughes også tidlig i år, men da valgte Hughes å bli. Det var da også dårlig stemning mellom klubbene ettersom Forest Green Rovers mente Pompey hadde gått feil fram. Forest Green Rovers skal ikke være fornøyd nå heller, men klubbens formann Dale Vince la ut denne tweeten etter at Richard Hughes ble klar for Pompey:

 

Pompey-manager Danny Cowleys kommentarer

«We’re really pleased to be able to bring someone of Richard’s experience and expertise to the club. He has a proven track record and I just think it’s a really important role for the club moving forward.

If we want to have sustained success then the key is the way we support the first-team. Whether that be in the Academy, recruitment, medical and sports science or analysis, I know he’ll be able to drive the standards and drive the performance in those areas.

I wake every morning with about 28 players at the forefront of my mind and sometimes staff suffer as a consequence because I’m not able to give them the support they deserve.

It has been pretty full-on and busy since Roberto left in February and that role is crucial for me, Nicky and the rest of our staff. We want to be involved in the strategy of the club and working towards our vision, but we’re also caught up in fixtures, which pretty much come around every three days.

It’s sometimes really hard to keep driving the strategy of the club forward when you’re so caught up in preparing for the next fixture. That’s where our roles become intertwined and is exactly what the football club needed.’

I like how hard-working Richard is, I like how open-minded he is, I like the fact he has no ego. Since Roberto left, we’ve been in this process of trying to appoint the right person and the club have been really patient.

‘They were really clear on the person they wanted and had to wait, which meant we kind of had to navigate through the summer transfer window, with everybody stepping up.

‘That allowed us the opportunity to be a bit more patient – and eventually get the person we wanted.’

 

Pompeys daglig leder Andy Cullens kommentarer

«We’re delighted to have appointed Richard as the club’s sporting director. This role is crucial for our longer-term football strategy and provides an oversight for all our football operations, easing some of the day-to-day operational pressures on Danny and Nicky.

Richard really impressed us with the way he was able to progress a number of different areas at Forest Green, culminating in their promotion to League One last season. He has a history of identifying emerging talent who have gone on to enjoy success in the professional game.

It was also important that he shares our vision and will be moving down to Portsmouth with his family, which underlines his commitment. We felt it was important to pause the process over the summer, but have met with a lot of people in recent weeks.

Richard was someone that we always had a lot of admiration for and he possesses the qualities and credentials we were looking for.»