Portsmouth winger Ryan Williams has seemingly taken shots at recently departed manager Kenny Jackett's playing and management style following the arrival of Danny Cowley. Jackett was replaced by the ex-Lincoln City and Huddersfield Town boss two weeks ago, the long-serving boss leaving his post at Fratton Park after nearly four years in charge. Jackett had failed to get Pompey into the Championship in that time and three losses in a row in the league, followed by an EFL Trophy final defeat to Salford City, sealed his fate and it was time for a change. Cowley was the consensus number one pick for the fans and it was a bit of a coup to get him in charge, and all three of his matches in charge have been 2-1 wins against Ipswich, Shrewsbury and Rochdale. Pompey fans are positive once again, which is a far cry from what the mood was like before Jackett was given his marching orders, with the belief that he wasn't getting the best out of the squad's true abilities.

 

 

 

 

And it looks like some of the Portsmouth players agree, as Williams has pointed to a specific player example in Ben Close, who was out of the first-team picture under Jackett but has shone under Cowley. "We've got the boys in this team to really play football," Williams said, per Andrew Moon of the BBC. "The first person that springs to mind is Ben Close, he wasn't one manager's cup of tea but the next comes in and wants to play football, he's been our best player" The Verdict It does look as though Williams is taking shots at not only Jackett's playing style, but also some of his man-management decisions. It's no secret that Pompey were quite direct under Jackett, and Cowley has tried to change that by playing it on the deck - with the likes of Marcus Harness and Ronan Curtis in the team they certainly have the personnel to do just that. Jackett's decision to not use Close for the last two months does seem bizarre considering how well he's now playing under Cowley, and it looks like the whole squad is set to prosper under Danny and Nicky.