Source: Team_Talk
Whittingham not after top job
Guy Whittingham ruled himself out of the running to replace Steve Cotterill after guiding Portsmouth to a 2-0 win over Barnsley on Saturday.[LNB] Coach Whittingham and assistant manager Stuart Gray led the side in the absence of Cotterill, who departed for Nottingham Forest.[LNB]After the victory at Fratton Park, Whittingham said: "I am not interested in the job. All I and Stuart are doing is preparing the side until such time an appointment is made.[LNB]"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.[LNB]"I told the players not to get too excited by this result, I just hope it gives us some confidence going into Tuesday's match against Ipswich.[LNB]"It is never easy when a manager leaves the day before and it took us time to settle but we made a bright start to the second half and got the two goals in quick succession."[LNB]Barnsley had the better of the first half and nearly took the lead when captain Jacob Butterfield smashed a shot straight at Stephen Henderson from 20 yards.[LNB]The Tykes continued their dominance and the disappointing Ricardo Vaz Te was guilty of wasting another effort which is fired over from just outside the six-yard area.[LNB]Pompey got a footing in the game midway through the first period with Luke Varney coming close with a 22-yard drive and Greg Halford heading wide from a Liam Lawrence corner.[LNB]Both teams came close just before the break, Varney slipping David Norris through but his scooped shot was well saved by former Manchester United goalkeeper Luke Steele.[LNB]Moments later, the impressive Butterfield was inches from breaking the deadlock when he bought down a Steele goal-kick, turned and struck a 20-yard thunderbolt against the inside of the right-hand post which flew away to safety.[LNB]Just after the interval, Lawrence crossed for Erik Huseklepp whose shot into the ground was brilliantly cleared off the line by Stephen Foster.[LNB]But Pompey got a quick-fire double in the space of just 73 seconds when Norris struck a volley into the corner in the 61st minute and Varney slotted home a Dave Kitson cross a minute later.[LNB]Barnsley manager Keith Hill saw his side have the better of the first half but they never looked like getting back into the game once Portsmouth had gone ahead.[LNB]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.[LNB]"Overall I am not too disappointed with the performance but once Portsmouth had scored they started to play better and it gave them energy.[LNB]"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."
