Hermann: I won't give up on my Pompey dream

The ex-defender had delivered a joint application with David James for the vacant Fratton Park hot seat.

The duo had been lined up for an interview this week as the board explored their short-list.

However, Hreidarsson later received a call from the Blues advising him not to fly over from Iceland as the club were looking elsewhere.

It’s a decision the Pompey favourite reluctantly accepts, considering the lower-league experience of the likes of Richie Barker, Chris Wilder and Paul Tisdale.

Pompey’s seven-man board have now reached agreement over the next manager having seen the last of the candidates – David Connolly and Andy Awford – yesterday.

However, it is expected there will be no official statement until Monday while they finalise a contract and inform the other candidates they have been unsuccessful.

In the meantime, Hreidarsson is upbeat over his future job aspirations.

He said: ‘You need to start somewhere and Portsmouth is the ideal place for us (Hreidarsson and James). It would have been nice to have got it.

‘I would have loved to have come back to the club.

‘We were together recently as manager and assistant at IBV and it went really well.

‘We were in a healthy working environment and bounced off each other.

‘We wanted to keep that partnership going and on a higher level, but it is not to be.

‘We were meant to be going in for an interview but they rang me and were honest and said they didn’t want to waste anyone’s time. Maybe there was an extra message there.

‘I accept that. I would rather them be straight. I understand where they are coming from.

‘It has not been great for the last few years and been tough times at Portsmouth, so maybe we never know if it’s the right or wrong decision – but there was a decision made.

‘When I left Pompey I always said I would love to come back here and be part of the club.

‘That may happen in the future. There might be a better time for me later on.’

Having spent a season with IBV in his homeland, Hreidarsson is eyeing England as the next stage of his managerial career.

He has recently finished his Uefa A licence, and in the meantime is working with his dad building a hotel in Iceland. But it is management where he believes his future lies.

He added: ‘At the moment I am doing something else in Iceland – building a hotel with my dad on the south coast in Hella. It is very exciting for me.

‘Both me and Jamo are keeping ourselves busy but want to be where we think we have got the most to give, where we feel the most at home – and that’s football.

‘In your stomach you want to be a manager, but you never know until you have tried it.

‘Well, I loved the job and feel I have a lot to give.

‘I just want to get back to England as soon as possible.

‘I spent 15-and-a-half years there and it is where I want to return for my football.’