Andy Awford has been confirmed as the new permanent manager of Portsmouth Football Club on a one-year rolling contract.
The news comes as no great surprise to anyone but it's good that the announcement has been made after the decision was made following last Thursday's talks.
As mentioned in my article yesterday, this is the right decision in my opinion and hopefully the board have got this one right after the previous two mistakes. Whilst fans may fear that Awford may fall the same way as Guy Whittingham, they would at least be comforted that the new manager's record is far superior to that of his predecessor's when he took over, having won 5, drawn 3 and lost only once this season.
Ben Chorley couldn't have been more complimentary to him in his interview with The News today and that's just another example of how highly his players think of him.
Awford is also up for April's "manager of the month" award (with Danny Hollands also up for "player of the month") and so could have more reason to celebrate when the result is announced tomorrow.
However, the celebrations won't last long as the job he has undertaken is a huge one. It's not just about managing the team, as Awford will also have to run the rule over how the academy is run, how the reserves are managed and how the scouting system is developed amongst other things.
All of this will have to be managed properly whilst the pressure is on for him to deliver promotion from League Two next season. It'll be interesting to see how he works with his staff to bring in the right players over the summer. If he could somehow convince Jed Wallace and Danny Hollands to stay at Pompey, then that would be a double coup for him.
We all wish him the best and hopefully he can be our club's first successful manager in years.