Cook could be in Salford hotseat for Wembley clash with Pompey

When

Pompey eventually take on Salford in the EFL Trophy final, plenty will have changed from when the game was scheduled to be played earlier in the year.

The Covid-19 pandemic meant the highly-anticipated Wembley clash on April 5 was postponed amid the shutdown of football.

With more than 50,000 members of the Fratton faithful snapping up tickets, the plan was for the showdown to go ahead when spectators are allowed back in stadia.

As revealed by The News, however, those hopes are now fading and it looks likely the game will take place behind closed doors.

Not only that but both sides will look different following the summer transfer window.

For Pompey, the likes of Callum Johnson and Michael Jacobs could make appearances at the national stadium they’d not expected six months ago, having completed moves to the south coast this summer.

The same can be said for

Ian Henderson, Tom Clarke and Jason Lowe among others who joined Salford during the transfer window.

What’s more, the Ammies will have a different manager at the helm to the one who guided them to Wembley.

Earlier this month, Salford sacked Graham Alexander

– despite sitting fifth in the League Two table.

Part-owner Paul Scholes is currently serving as interim manager as the Greater Manchester outfit continue to search for the right candidate to achieve their goal of promotion.

Not only that but the new man will be tasked with delivering the EFL Trophy.

And if the bookies are right then it could be a familiar face looking to plot Pompey’s downfall in the opposite Wembley dugout.

Paul Cook is among the front-runners with the bookmakers to become the next manager at the Peninsula Stadium.

He’s currently 6/4 favourite with Paddy Power while Sky Bet have him as 9/4 thirdfavourite behind Swindon boss Richie Wellens and Salford development-squad chief Warren Joyce.

Cook left Fratton Park for Wigan less than a month after guiding the Blues to the League Two title in 2017.

He spent three seasons in the hot seat at the DW Stadium, winning the League One crown in 2018 but quit when the Latics were relegated.