Portsmouth owner talks planned as Women boss plots bouncing back from relegation devastation
Talks are planned with Pompey owners in a bid to bounce back following Sunday’s relegation
Jay Sadler is already plotting Pompey Women’s return after relegation heartbreak.
And he’s hoping to convince owners Tornante to allow them to retain full-time status in order to drive his ambition of bouncing straight back.
The Blues’ WSL2 stay is over after Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest sealed their relegation with one game remaining.
Hannah Coan’s 41st-minute own goal separated the sides and, with rivals Durham and Ipswich both registering victories, it condemned the Blues to a return to Women’s Premier League Southern Division, just two years after winning it.
The long-serving Sadler expects to meet their owners next month to plot a plan of action following the devastating relegation set-back.
And he remains as positive as ever over Pompey Women’s future.
’It hurts’
Sadler told The News: ‘I’m emotional, it hurts. You can try to prepare yourself for relegation, but I don’t quite think you understand how big it feels.
‘It’s a sore one for me to take, through my 10 years here we’ve gone through some incredible moments. Our last game is Crystal Palace and the hardest thing now is trying to motivate a group of players to finish the season on a high.
‘Beyond that, there will be a big summer rebuild in order to get back. We’ll have discussions with the owners to see what next year looks like being back in tier three - then we’ll be able to prepare and build.
‘Remaining full-time is obviously the aim, it’s something we have spoken about and we would like. Ultimately, however, that’s a decision above my head and something we can only pitch and request.
‘If we were to maintain our full-time status in tier three and maintain a large proportion of the players, the staff, the provisions and the processes we’ve put in place, then I think we’d have a hell of an opportunity to come straight back up.
‘We’ve just got to hope that’s the case. If not, what we don’t want to do is take any backwards steps, but that's what relegation can do for you,
‘The emotional support from the owners has been terrific all season and I expect it to continue. We must look at it from a business point of view and see what the vision is and how we’re going to achieve it.
‘I try to have a positive outlet, I never want to be too down. Although it’s sore and it’s hurting after relegation, you have to look through it and where this club can go. Whether it’s the men’s or the women’s teams, every time the club gets knocked back, it always finds a way to come up.
‘We’ll have the discussion with the owners and see what the plan is and their vision moving forward - and we’ll see what happens in the summer.’
Fratton Park to undergo £1m pitch replacement
A crowd of 1,278 were present at Fratton Park on Sunday for their decisive defeat and, from next season, that will be their permanent home.
WIth work on a new £1m Fratton Park pitch commencing from May 5, the outcome will be the construction of a state-of-the-art hybrid playing service capable of hosting more fixtures.
That will allow Pompey Women to bid farewell to Westleigh Park, their regular home ground for a number of years, and instead relocate to PO2, enabling them to grow greater attendances.
Sadler added: ‘Being based at Fratton Park (permanently) is another positive step for the football club - and one thing we do as a football club is make positive steps off the pitch every single year.
‘Maybe it’s not at the rate of knots that other clubs do. Look at Nottingham Forest. We were promoted a year ahead of them and all the talent and investment they’ve had is significant.
‘However for us it’s another step in the right direction being able to train full-time and then next year play all our games at Fratton Park. Hopefully we can grow the attendances, that is the long-term strategy of the club.
‘Obviously dropping down to tier three is a backwards step, but we respect it and understand there’s good quality in there. We're going to have to get ourselves ready for it.’