Portsmouth lose patience with Hart failure as Grant prepares to take reins
PORTSMOUTH director of football Avram Grant is expected to take over as manager after the club sacked Paul Hart yesterday.
Hart paid the price for a disastrous start to the season that has left them anchored to the bottom of the Premier League after 10 defeats from 13 games.
His departure clears the way for former Chelsea manager Grant to take charge, after he was lured back to the club last month by Pompey’s latest owner Ali Al Faraj.
“Paul has worked under very difficult circumstances with the financial restrictions the club has faced since he took over,” said chief executive Peter Storrie. “However, the board feels the team should have accrued more points to date and that we need a new man in charge to ensure Premier League survival.”
Hart had to cope with the sale of his best players, boardroom chaos and financial problems that saw the club pay staff late and banned from making transfers.
Israeli Grant spent most of the 2007-08 season in charge at Chelsea, narrowly missing out on the league title and only losing the Champions League final to Manchester United on penalties. His first match in charge is likely to be against the same opponents, when the champions visit Fratton Park on Saturday.