Portsmouth announce permanent Whittingham appointment

Portsmouth have confirmed the appointment of Guy Whittingham as manager on a permanent basis.

Whittingham has been in caretaker charge at Fratton Park since the November departure of Michael Appleton to Blackpool.

And, despite the 48-year-old failing to save the club from relegation to League Two after they were deducted 10 points for going into administration, he is set to remain at the helm next term.

Iain McInnes, Portsmouth’s new chairman following the successful takeover by the Pompey Supporters’ Trust, said: “We are delighted to have a character of Guy’s calibre in charge.

“He understands the club and what we are trying to achieve and he has shown in the past few months what he can do when he has the opportunity to work with a settled group of players.”

Whittingham said: “I’m very pleased, it’s something I wanted to do since taking over as caretaker.

“It’s been a rollercoaster ride but we always believed we could show people that we were capable of doing the job.

“We believed that, once we got a settled side, we could show people what we can do. I’m glad the decision has been made and now we can get on with the planning.”

Portsmouth have won five of their last 10 fixtures in League One.