Guy: We could have avoid drop

Pompey caretaker boss Guy Whittingham Picture: Joe Pepler

Guy Whittingham admitted relegation wouldn't have been on the agenda if he had inherited his current Pompey squad.

The Blues caretaker boss has had to rebuild the club’s first-team set-up since taking charge in November from Michael Appleton.

A host of players left in January, with the club unable to offer long-term deals, leaving Whittingham to start from scratch in a bid to formulate a side that would remain competitive in League One.

That transition coincided with a club-record 23-match run without a win, which makes League Two football at Fratton Park inevitable next season.

But with Pompey now boasting an impressive four wins and two draws from their past seven games – a run that has seen them move off the bottom of the table – Whittingham believes his current crop of players could have been dreaming of bigger and better things.

‘One thing is guaranteed, I think, the way you see the team performing, we wouldn’t be were we are now,’ said Whittingham.

‘How far we could go, I don’t know. But we are were we are now.

‘I’m just glad we’ve turned it around and that we’re doing quite well now. The fans have got something to cheer about.’

– MARK McMAHON