Last week, Last Word On Sports brought you the latest promotion odds in League Two. Over the next couple of weeks, we will look, in depth, at the top three sides that have been made favourites for promotion, Portsmouth, Oxford United and Leyton Orient.
We begin with the leagues favourite for promotion, Portsmouth.
New manager Paul Cook has wasted no time in re-shaping his squad as he aims to achieve automatic promotion with the south-coast club. Cook has some vital experience in this league, winning the title with Chesterfield two seasons ago, and will be looking to achieve that feat for another time with another club.
Upon his arrival, cook began by reshaping the backroom staff, getting rid of the former assistant, Gary Waddock, amongst others, and bringing in his assistant from Chesterfield; Leam Richardson.
And the reshuffle didn’t stop there. Cook was powerless to keep hold of fan favourite Jed Wallace, who left to join Championship side Wolverhampton, but he wasted little time finding a replacement; 24 year old winger Kyle Bennett from League One side Doncaster Rovers. Bennett made 50 appearances for Donny last season, scoring eight goals – a similar record to that of Wallace in League Two.
In addition to Bennett, Cook has snapped up fellow wingers Kai Naismith and Gary Roberts from Accrington Stanley and Cook’s former club, Chesterfield respectively. Naismith, 23, began his career at Rangers, winning promotion from the Scottish Third Division in 2012/13, before making 39 appearances for Stanley last season. As for Roberts, the 31 year old brings some vital Football League experience to a relatively young squad. He, like Naismith, used to turn out for Accrington, where the winger scored 23 goals in 66 appearances over two seasons. That led to a move to Championship side Ipswich Town where he spent one season, before a move to Huddersfield, where he scored 31 goals in 164 appearances over four years. Working with Cook at Chesterfield, Roberts scored 17 goals in 74 appearances, including the clubs promotion winning season.
Another midfielder, Adam Barton, has also arrived at Fratton Park after completing his move from League One side Coventry City. The 24 year old, who began his career at Preston North End, made 27 appearances for the Sky Blues last season and will be welcome competition for the central midfield position at the club.
Defenders Enda Stevens and Christian Burgess have also been snapped up by Cook. Stevens, 24, arrives from Premier League side Aston Villa, where he made seven league appearances and two League Cup appearances for the Villains. The left back has had loan spells at Notts County, Doncaster Rovers (twice) and Northampton Town, so he has gained some valuable experience in the lower leagues. So too does 23 year old Burgess, who arrives from Peterborough United. The Middlesbrough youth player spent a season on loan at Hartlepool United in 2013/14 before making the switch to the Posh, where he made 30 appearances last season.
The final signing, so far, is Burton Albion forward Adam McGurk. The Northern Irishman scored seven goals as the Brewers won League Two last season, and the 26 year old will be hoping his winning mentality of a promotion achieving squad can rub off among his new team-mates.
We’ll undoubtedly see plenty more activity from Cook and Portsmouth in the upcoming weeks, but the recent activity has already shown the clubs intent as they look to achieve promotion next season.
