English Premier League strugglers Portsmouth on Thursday named former Chelsea and Israel boss Avram Grant as their new manager.
Grant, who returned to the club as director of football last month, takes over from Paul Hart, who was sacked earlier this week. His first game in charge will be today’s meeting with champions Manchester United at Fratton Park.
Pompey chief executive officer Peter Storrie said: “Avram is a very experienced and respected manager, who has managed at the highest level. The board believes he is the man to help steer the club out of the relegation zone.”
“He knows the club, the players and the set-up at Fratton Park, so it was the logical move to make him the next manager, once the board had decided to relieve Paul Hart of the role,” Storrie said. “He will take charge of training on Friday alongside first-team coaches Paul Groves and Ian Woan.”
Grant’s appointment is subject to a modification of his work permit to take account of his new role, but that is unlikely to cause any problem given his pedigree as a manager at the highest levels of the game.
After making his name as a club and national team manager in Israel, Grant served briefly as Portsmouth’s technical director before moving, in July 2007, to Chelsea.
He was initially director of football at Stamford Bridge before stepping in to the manager’s chair following the departure of Jose Mourinho two months later.
Grant led the Blues to last year’s Champions League final, but after a penalty shoot-out defeat by Manchester United, he was sacked to make way for the appointment of Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Portsmouth have won only twice in the league this season and are three points adrift at the bottom of the table.
Hart, who was the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season, confirmed later on Thursday that he had rejected Portsmouth’s offer of a technical director role — a post similar to the one that brought him to Fratton Park — and had left the club completely.
“I would like at this time to thank all of the supporters and players for the backing they have given during my time at Portsmouth Football Club,” Hart told Sky Sports in a statement. “The speed of recent events, though, has been somewhat surprising and I am naturally disappointed not to be able to continue in the role [of manager] at Portsmouth Football Club. Unfortunately, I do not believe that having been the manager of Portsmouth Football Club I will be able to return to the youth-team role that has been offered to me by the club and it is with deep regret that my time with Portsmouth Football Club has now come to an end. However, I look forward to a return to management in the near future.”
Former Leeds manager Hart took over from Tony Adams in February and won plaudits for keeping Portsmouth in the top flight last season, but his job was made extremely tough as a result of severe financial constraints, which resulted in the sale of all but a handful of the players who had won the FA Cup under Harry Redknapp last year.
The club has also been beset by boardroom turmoil, with Saudi Arabian businessman Ali Al-Faraj taking over last month just two months after Sulaiman Al-Fahim had assumed control.
Pompey have been subjected to a transfer ban because of concerns regarding unpaid fees to other clubs and chief executive Storrie was this month charged with tax evasion.
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