Former Portsmouth manager Graham Rix sacked by Wessex League club Fareham Town

Former Portsmouth boss Graham Rix has left Fareham Town. Picture: Dave Haines

Former Pompey boss Graham Rix has been sacked as manager of Fareham Town.

His assistant Matt Powell and coach Marty Wallace have also left the Wessex League Premier Division club.

Rix had been in charge at Cams Alders since August 2022.

A club statement said: “Fareham Town Football Club would like to formally announce that we have parted company with Graham Rix and his management team.

“This decision has not been taken lightly by the club. We have had a number of discussions as a committee along with discussions with unhappy players for some time and despite some comments on social media, we have to put the club first and move into next season with a new management team.

“We would like to wish Graham and his team all the best in their future endeavours.”

Former England international Rix, capped 17 times by his country, had joined Fareham in July 2022 after leaving his role as assistant to Shaun Gale at Gosport Borough.

Gale had recruited Rix just over a year earlier, having known him since they were on the same UEFA B Licence coaching course two decades prior - Roy Keane and Tony Adams were on the same course.

Then Fareham boss Pete Stiles had known Rix since he was reserve team boss at Portchester during the latter’s time as manager of the Royals in the mid 2010s.

But after just two games of the 2022/23 Wessex Premier season, Stiles stepped down as manager to be replaced by Rix.

Fareham finished that season ninth and were seconds away from collecting the club’s first major trophy for 30 years.

They were leading Horndean 1-0 in the Portsmouth Senior Cup final at Fratton Park when Tom Jeffes levelled for the Wessex champions in the 95th minute.

Horndean went on to lift the trophy after winning a penalty shoot-out.

This season Fareham finished 10th, after having to cram 12 of their 38 Premier fixtures into April.

Few clubs suffered more as a result of the winter’s continued wet weather than the Reds, who hardly played at Cams Alders between mid-October and April.

Rix, who managed Pompey between February 2001 and March 2002, declined to comment when contacted by The News.