Pompey to resist exodus
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Portsmouth insist they will do everything possible to hang onto their first-team stars, despite conceding that it was Harry Redknapp's influence which lured many players to the south coast.
Pompey chief executive Peter Storrie insists financial considerations were not the reason for the club allowing Redknapp to leave the club for Tottenham on Saturday night and they will not they force the club to sell the stars the former West Ham man brought in.
Players such as Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch and Lassana Diarra seem certain to be linked with a switch to White Hart Lane but Storrie says they will not willingly let these players leave.
"I accept that many players did come here mostly because of Harry but that sort of thing also exists at other clubs," Storie said.
"I don't know what is going to happen in the future because Harry's going is still a big shock.
"It is something we did everything in our power to prevent but in the end the lure of Tottenham was too much for him to resist.
"I've known him 14 years at West Ham and here and I know that he also wanted to manage a top club - in terms of great stadium and fantastic history - and I have to respect that as the reason why he's gone.
"We talked to him long and hard and I think, at several points, he changed his mind, but that was just the same as when he was offered the Newcastle job earlier this year.
"He turned that down in the end and we immediately gave him a new contract to 2011 but I did not expect to be dealing with the compensation for that already.
"We have to make it clear that it is Harry's choice to go and we have not done this for the money.
"Whatever Spurs give us as compensation is set in stone in the Premier League contract rules as either a fixed sum or whatever is left on a manager's contract."
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i shall see how you gonna hang on to him then.
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hahahaha, now portsmouth gona drop points.