Portsmouth are giving serious consideration to appointing the temporary management team of Paul Hart and Brian Kidd on a permanent basis. The pair started with a win over Manchester City last Saturday and would greatly improve their employment prospects if they secure victory at Stoke City tomorrow.
Hart has impressed since stepping up from his role in charge of the club's youth set-up after Tony Adams was sacked. Last Saturday's 2-0 win at Fratton Park lifted the team four points above the relegation zone and has given the club breathing space in the search for a new manager.
It also alerted the owner, Sacha Gaydamak, and his executive chairman, Peter Storrie, to the qualities and experience of Hart and Kidd. Hart has taken charge of almost 300 league games as the manager of Nottingham Forest, Barnsley and Chesterfield.
Kidd, meanwhile, has Premier League experience as a No1 at Blackburn Rovers and has assisted Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, Bryan Robson at Sheffield United, David O'Leary and Peter Reid at Leeds, and also worked with Sven-Goran Eriksson's England squad.
The Pompey defender Hermann Hreidarsson is backing Hart and Kidd and it is thought that other senior squad members, including Sean Davis, are also behind Hart. Eriksson remains Storrie's No1 choice, however, but the club's chances of getting him have receded as the Swede has been given another vote of confidence by his employer, the Mexican football federation, although Portsmouth have not given up hope.The club is conscious that after the Stoke game the fixture list also allows more time to appoint Adams' successor. In the three weeks up to the visit to Middlesbrough on 14 March Portsmouth have only a Tuesday night encounter with Chelsea, which is due to be played 11 days earlier.
