Al Fahim illness 'will not affect plans'

03 October 2009 09:36
New Portsmouth owner Sulaiman Al Fahim's imminent surgery to cure a kidney stones problem will hinder his plans to refinance the south coast club. Al Fahim's has pledged to inject £50million into the Fratton Park outfit, but his difficult takeover remains a matter for scrutiny after the club confirmed on Thursday that their players had not been paid last month's wages on time. Ivo Gabara, spokesman for Al Fahim, told BBC Sport: "This (hospital treatment) will not have any impact on the refinancing or management of Portsmouth." In addition to the financial problems, manager Paul Hart suffered a further setback this week when his attempts to recruit Gary McAllister as assistant boss ended in frustration. Hart had been in talks with the ex-Leeds manager but the two parties were unable to agree terms. The former Nottingham Forest boss has been without a number two since Brian Kidd's departure from Fratton Park over the summer. Hart said: "I brought Brian Kidd in last season and we got on. I thought he may come back but he didn't. "Everybody on my staff is important and that how it has to be, I don't do it all on my own. We have to have meetings about training and stuff, that's what happens. "I thought I'd got someone (McAllister) but I haven't. Now I have to concentrate on the game against Wolverhampton Wanderers. That's uppermost in my mind."

Source: Eurosport