First-team coach Guy Whittingham has ruled himself out of the running to become the next manager of Portsmouth.
Whittingham says he is not interested in Fratton Park job
First-team coach Guy Whittingham has ruled himself out of the running to become the next manager of Portsmouth.
The former striker admitted he had 'no interest' in taking over the hot-seat at Fratton Park following the departure of Steve Cotterill to Nottingham Forest on Friday.
Fellow coach Stuart Gray could still be in the frame, but when the 46-year-old Whittingham was asked if he wanted the job after the 2-0 win against Barnsley at Fratton Park, he was quick to say 'no'.
Response
He told
Sky Sports 2: "It's a great response from our players because it's obviously not easy when your manager leaves on a Friday morning and you've got a game on Saturday but I thought our players reacted very well to it.
"It was a good positive performance and we got the win, which is the big relief to us.
"We've looked at the stats before and we've been a second-half team all the time, so we reminded them of that and reminded them of what they did well in the first half and they went out and did the same thing again. They had a bright start to the second half and that's what gave us the footing to go on and win the game."
Asked what happens next with the manager's job, Whittingham added: "That's a question you need to ask the owners and the chief executive.
"We have got a game on Tuesday at Ipswich and we have to prepare as we normally prepare when (Steve) Cotterill was here."
And when asked if he would like to do it, Whittingham was quick to reply: "No, not interested. We just want to make sure that the team prepares for the games, however many games there may be.
"I love being a coach and I don't want the stress of being a manager. I have a
nice family life and I want to keep it that way."
No danger
Barnsley had been the better side for much of the first half and struck the
post through Jacob Butterfield. But the home side were well on top when David Norris struck in the 61st minute and they quickly added a second through Luke Varney as Barnsley's seven-game unbeaten run came to an abrupt halt.
Tykes manager Keith Hill said: "If we had scored first we could have won the game. In the first half they caused us no danger expect from set-pieces.
"Overall I am not too disappointed with the performance but once Portsmouth had scored they started to play better and it gave them energy.
"We are moving in the right direction despite this result. I am pleased with the development of our style and with the commitment of the players. You can learn a lot from losing."
