Portsmouth sack Paul Hart with Avram Grant early favourite to take charge at Fratton Park
Portsmouth have sacked Paul Hart as their manager. The 56-year-old was informed of the decision at a meeting with directors on Tuesday after a woeful start to the season, with Portsmouth at the bottom of the Premier League table, four points adrift of safety.
By Jason Burt
Published: 5:57PM GMT 24 Nov 2009
Downhearted: Paul Hart was sacked today by bottom-of-the table Portsmouth Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Focus will now turn to who will replace Hart at Fratton Park. The club recently appointed Avram Grant, the former Chelsea manager, as their new director of football and he has emerged as the early front-runner to be given the job.
Grant was director of football previously at Portsmouth, before he initially took a similar role at Chelsea, and has been out of football since he was sacked at Stamford Bridge.
The Israeli was linked with the manager’s job earlier this year when Tony Adams was sacked but Portsmouth opted for Hart instead.
There will be great sympathy for Hart who has, to his credit, created a new team at Portsmouth after the summer fire-sale of players and has stabilised matters on the field. Portsmouth have been unfortunate but the defeat last Sunday to Stoke City was the final straw for the owners.
Hart, the former Nottingham Forest manager who had been running Portsmouth’s academy as director of youth operations until he took charge following Adams’ sacking, has had to deal with the uncertainty over the club’s ownership, the failure to pay staff and players on time and, more recently, a transfer embargo because of the failure to re-pay debts.
Only last week Hart admitted that he was still waiting to meet Ali Al Faraj, Portsmouth’s owner, who quickly acquired the club after the embarrassing, protracted saga of Sulaiman Al Fahim’s takeover, but who has been a low-profle figure since his buy-out.
Hart signed a two-year contract as Portsmouth’s manager in July after successfully steering the club clear of relegation at the end of last season but has had to deal with the departure of high-profile players such as Peter Crouch, Niko Kranjcar, Sylvain Distin and Sol Campbell as he has rebuilt the first-team squad almost from scratch.
Hart becomes the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season although the dismissal has come later than some people expected given Portsmouth lost their first seven league matches of the campaign. However they have rallied, and have been playing well, and there are grounds to believe they may escape their plight.
Clearly Portsmouth’s owners believe that Hart is not the man to be able to do that. If Grant is appointed it will cap a remarkable comeback for the former Israel national team coach, who was sacked by Chelsea are losing the 2006 Champions League final, on penalties, to Manchester United.
Grant’s appointment as director of football at Portsmouth, announced in October, has been contingent on the 54-year-old, who has been desperate to return to the Premier League although he was recently linked to the Poland national team job, receiving clearance from the Home Office.
Portsmouth face Manchester United at home on Saturday.
Portsmouth have sacked Paul Hart as their manager. The 56-year-old was informed of the decision at a meeting with directors on Tuesday after a woeful start to the season, with Portsmouth at the bottom of the Premier League table, four points adrift of safety.
By Jason Burt
Published: 5:57PM GMT 24 Nov 2009
Downhearted: Paul Hart was sacked today by bottom-of-the table Portsmouth Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Focus will now turn to who will replace Hart at Fratton Park. The club recently appointed Avram Grant, the former Chelsea manager, as their new director of football and he has emerged as the early front-runner to be given the job.
Grant was director of football previously at Portsmouth, before he initially took a similar role at Chelsea, and has been out of football since he was sacked at Stamford Bridge.
The Israeli was linked with the manager’s job earlier this year when Tony Adams was sacked but Portsmouth opted for Hart instead.
There will be great sympathy for Hart who has, to his credit, created a new team at Portsmouth after the summer fire-sale of players and has stabilised matters on the field. Portsmouth have been unfortunate but the defeat last Sunday to Stoke City was the final straw for the owners.
Hart, the former Nottingham Forest manager who had been running Portsmouth’s academy as director of youth operations until he took charge following Adams’ sacking, has had to deal with the uncertainty over the club’s ownership, the failure to pay staff and players on time and, more recently, a transfer embargo because of the failure to re-pay debts.
Only last week Hart admitted that he was still waiting to meet Ali Al Faraj, Portsmouth’s owner, who quickly acquired the club after the embarrassing, protracted saga of Sulaiman Al Fahim’s takeover, but who has been a low-profle figure since his buy-out.
Hart signed a two-year contract as Portsmouth’s manager in July after successfully steering the club clear of relegation at the end of last season but has had to deal with the departure of high-profile players such as Peter Crouch, Niko Kranjcar, Sylvain Distin and Sol Campbell as he has rebuilt the first-team squad almost from scratch.
Hart becomes the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season although the dismissal has come later than some people expected given Portsmouth lost their first seven league matches of the campaign. However they have rallied, and have been playing well, and there are grounds to believe they may escape their plight.
Clearly Portsmouth’s owners believe that Hart is not the man to be able to do that. If Grant is appointed it will cap a remarkable comeback for the former Israel national team coach, who was sacked by Chelsea are losing the 2006 Champions League final, on penalties, to Manchester United.
Grant’s appointment as director of football at Portsmouth, announced in October, has been contingent on the 54-year-old, who has been desperate to return to the Premier League although he was recently linked to the Poland national team job, receiving clearance from the Home Office.
Portsmouth face Manchester United at home on Saturday.
