Hart picking up the pieces

Pompey boss still up for fight

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 10th November 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Hart picking up the pieces

Hart: Not giving up

Related links

Teams

Also see

Paul Hart insists Portsmouth will bounce back from their disappointing 3-1 defeat to Blackburn.

The setback, suffered after leading 1-0 at half-time, has left Pompey marooned at the foot of the Premier League table.

The South Coast outfit have now tasted defeat 10 times in 12 top-flight outings and appear set to become embroiled in a long running relegation battle.

Hart, though, remains optimistic regarding his side's chances of steering a course to safety, claiming the club have had to deal with far worse over recent months as they attempt to put the pieces back together following a much-published financial crisis.

"We believe in what we're doing. We've been picking ourselves up for months now and we will do it again," Hart told The News.

"There is a long way to go yet and we have proved we can get the results. I believe in the team I have here and we will stick together and come out fighting again.

"We've made a lot of progress from our well-documented problems through the summer.

"It is a setback but we are used to picking ourselves. We will do it again."

Transfer market

Hart's survival plans will be dealt an untimely blow in January when a number of his players head to the African Cup of Nations.

Kanu, John Utaka, Aruna Dindane, Hassan Yebda, Nadir Belhadj and Kevin Prince Boateng are all set to report for international duty, leaving Pompey short on numbers at a crucial stage of the season.

"I brought it to people's notice a month ago because it will take the spine out of the team and could be a difficult situation," added Hart.

"I think Boateng wants to play for Ghana, so I couldn't stand in his way.

"We have got priorities for January if we do anything in the transfer market. But who is to say that January is a good time to buy players anyway? Historically, it's not."

Post to your View!

Be the first to post a comment on this story

Add Comment*

Send us your views

Are you a Sky Sports subscriber?

*All fields required, your email address will be kept private