Source: Daily_Mail
Don't go Sylvain: Hart hands Distin armband in battle to keep defender
Sylvain Distin has been handed the captain's armband by Portsmouth manager Paul Hart who hopes the gesture will keep the French defender at Fratton Park. [LNB]Please stay: Pompey are desperate to keep Distin[LNB]Distin has been linked with Aston Villa, Liverpool, Sunderland and a return to Manchester City but Pompey want Distin, who succeeds Sol Campbell as skipper, to sign a new contract and stay at the club.[LNB]'Sylvain will be leading the team out. You only had to watch him from February through to the end of the season to realise why,' said Hart ahead of Pompey's Barclays Premier League opener against Fulham.[LNB]'The way he conducts himself around the football club is impeccable.' [LNB]As Sulaiman Al Fahim's takeover continues to drag on, Hart hopes his three most influential players, Distin, David James and Niko Kranjcar, will remain at Fratton Park.[LNB]Hart added: 'I am pretty confident they'll still be here, and I am under no instructions to sell unless I want to sell.' [LNB] Al Fahim will watch Portsmouth take on Fulham in bid to dispel takeover talkKanu to the rescue: striker pens new deal and pledges to save PortsmouthCoventry City seal £1m deal for Portsmouth defender Martin CranieALL TEAM NEWS FOR THE BIG PREMIER LEAGUE KICK-OFFCLICK HERE to play MailOnline's new Fantasy Football game and win £50,000PORTSMOUTH FC
