Ex-Portsmouth, Charlton and Sheffield United man enjoys stunning start to management - but doesn't want the job
The winger made 62 appearances and scored twice for the Blues before leaving for Northampton in January 2015
A former Pompey player of the season has enjoyed a stunning first week in football management.
Although man-of-the-moment Ricky Holmes is adamant he doesn’t want the job on a permanent basis.
The 38-year-old has been appointed Chelmsford City’s player-manager on an interim basis following Angelo Harrop’s dismissal.
The ambitious National South side made the change in an attempt to give their fading play-off challenge late impetus after a concerning run of two wins in seven.
Temporary replacement
They opted to look within the club for his temporary replacement, handing former Charlton and Sheffield United man Holmes the role for the final six matches of the season.
The ex-Blues attacker, who made 62 appearances and scored twice during his time at Fratton Park, continues to be a regular performer for the Clarets on the pitch.
Yet, in their time of need, he has stepped forward - and has already led them to a 3-0 win over Enfield and an improbable point at Dagenham & Redbridge to lift them into 11th.
That impressive Easter programme return has put them within four points of the play-offs with four matches remaining, although, according to Chelmsford owner and chairman Spencer Gore, a permanent job is not on the cards.
‘We’ve still got a chance at the play-offs. Yes, we have it out of our hands. But of course, we win all of our games or even don’t win all of our games. If other teams slip up, we’ve got a chance. That’s the beauty of football.
‘We’ve had very good conversations with Ricky about what we want to do. He’s made it very clear he doesn’t want to be the manager full-time at this stage in his career. He wants to keep learning, but he’s happy to help us out.
‘As a sensible board of directors, every month we sit down and have a short list of replacements for the manager in case he gets poached by a bigger team or hit by a bus or any sort of situation.
‘He’s made it very clear he doesn’t want to be the manager full-time at this stage’
‘So, we’ve got people on our short list that we’ll be looking at. We want to make it a very quick turnaround if we can find the right person because it’s a crucial part of the season.
‘We’ve got players’ contracts coming to an end. They want to know where they stand. They want to know who the manager is going to be before they sign. We’ve got players that we want to be signing for next season that want to know who the manager is before they sign.
‘We’d like to have someone in place, at least on paper, before the end of the season, even if they don’t start until the start of the season, just so that it makes those conversations a little bit easier.’
Holmes, who is currently injured, kicked off his managerial stint with a 3-0 success over Enfield on Good Friday.
Then, on Monday, his team were down to 10 men and trailing at Dagenham 3-1 with two minutes remaining - before staging a sensational comeback.
Harry Barbrook pulled on back on 88 minutes, before Jett Murphy levelled for Cheltenham in the seventh minute of stoppage time to secure a stunning 3-3 draw.
They are now four points off the top seven, with a game in hand on many of their rivals, as Holmes attempts to oversee a late-season charge for the play-offs.
Joined Pompey on a free from Barnet
Holmes joined Pompey in June 2013 on a free transfer from Barnet after fan ownership had saved the club from liquidation.
However, the 2013-14 season proved chaotic, with the Blues coming close to dropping out of the Football League until caretaker boss Andy Awford saved them with three games to spare.
Holmes finished the season strongly and his efforts were recognised by the Fratton faithful, who voted him The News/Sports Mail Player of the Season for 2013-14.
Yet a falling out with Awford, by now permanent Pompey boss, saw the winger shown the door in January 2015 after 62 appearances and two goals and moving to Northampton following a successful loan.
After winning the League Two title with the Cobblers in 2015-16, he joined Charlton and then Championship Sheffield United, where injury prevented him playing for them in the Premier League.
Holmes also featured for Oxford United, Gillingham, Northampton (second spell) and Southend, while he left Farnborough for Chelmsford in May 2025.
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