Former Pompey midfielder Shaun Derry has been spoken about as a potential contender for the vacant Cardiff City job.
The Bluebirds are still on the search for a new permanent first-team manager after parting company with Erol Bulut over a fortnight ago. Former Leyton Orient and Watford coach Omer Riza has taken interim charge, and guided them to their first win of the season, picking up four points out of a possible nine in his three games in charge.
According to WalesOnline, a few ‘left-field names’ have been thrown in to the mix, and that includes Shaun Derry. Derry is currently assistant coach to another former Pompey midfielder Gary O’Neil at Wolves.
The 46-year-old has been a manager before, but that was six-years ago. He had spells in charge of Notts County and Cambridge United, but that was in League One, however he did keep the Magpies up when they looked destined for the drop.
Despite Derry’s name being mentioned, it appears that Reading boss Ruben Selles is a strong contender for the role. He is apparently a ‘central part’ of Cardiff’s discussions, but they are also considering an unnamed former Man United player, which is rumoured to be John O’Shea.
Cardiff and Pompey are currently direct rivals with both sides sitting on five points after nine games played. Goal difference is what is keeping John Mousinho’s men above the Welsh side, and there will be a watchful eye over from Pompey as to who they decide to appoint.
Pompey travel to the Cardiff City Stadium later this month, facing them on Tuesday, October 22, following their trip to QPR, which is the first game back after the international break.
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But the Blues sporting director has outlined the need for flexibility will be required, ahead of what is already shaping up to be a massive window for the club.
The onus will be on Hughes and the recruitment team now headed up by Brad Wall, to ensure John Mousinho’s team is suitably replenished for what appears will likely be a fight to stay in the Championship.
After a busy summer in which 15 new faces were brought in and 17 players departed PO4, eyes are already on what comes next from January 1.
Hughes explained there’s been extensive work put into looking at under-18 players, as an improved database of emerging talent is assembled.
And players Pompey trailed as potential summer potentials will remain under review with there potential to accelerate interest in the new year.
Hughes stated there will not be a rigid approach to business, with the requirement to nail down what is required as the months and weeks count down to the window opening.
What’s happened in the first-team set-up in recent months has underlined the need for that flexibility, though plenty of due diligence on options has already be carried out.
Speaking to the Tony Goodall Fans’ Conference, Hughes said: ‘We’ve not got specific targets in mind at this stage. We’ll home in on targets after we see where the group is at, and what the emerging needs are.
‘There are some targets from the summer we’ll keep on top of. We’ve watched a huge number of clubs and under-18 sides already this year, as scouting is a constant evolution of work.
‘We’ve changed some of our reporting systems and mechanisms this year and built our own bespoke platform to capture everything.
‘That’s been a welcome addition for the football club. There is lots of work going on behind the scenes so we can react in January.’
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