Source: Telegraph
David James told to 'knuckle down' at Portsmouth after Tottenham deal falls through
Many observers saw the recent signing of veteran Antti Niemi, coaxed out of retirement by Portsmouth's chief executive Peter Storrie, as paving the way for James' departure.
And with Bosnian international Asmir Begovic and Jamie Ashdown also on the books at Fratton Park, James faces competition for his place now that he will remain at the club for the next four months at least.
With a World Cup at the end of the season and James' position as Fabio Capello's first choice also facing pressure from Ben Foster at Manchester United and West Ham United's Robert Green, James now faces an uncertain few months for both club and country.
'David has got to knuckle down and work hard,' said Storrie. 'He may be England goalkeeper but we have a lot of talented 'keepers here.
'For the first time since he has been at the club David's place in the team is not guaranteed. He has got competition, believe me.'
James' incredible fitness despite the 39-year-old's advancing years has always been one of his key assets but he was forced to sit out the 1-0 defeat against Manchester City on Sunday with Begovic replacing him.
'Asmir has grown in stature every time he played and Antti is not far from fitness,' said Storrie. 'We have also got Jamie Ashdown.'
James, who misses England's double header of a friendly against Slovenia on Staurday and a crucial World Cup qualifier against Croatia next week because of his injury, has been a vocal critic of the club for failing to resolve issues surrounding the protracted takeover by Sulaiman Al Fahim, which appears to have been settled shortly before the transfer window closed.
Portsmouth were one of the busiest clubs in the Premier League last week after losing a raft of top players and replacing them with cheaper options.
'David has said things and most of those conversations have been with Paul,' said Storrie. 'Let's just say they have had discussions.
'As far as we are concerned he is under contract and here to give 100 per cent to Portsmouth Football Club. If he does not want that he has to tell us.
'We didn't actually get any offers for him. There was interest from Spurs as I understand it but we had no direct offer.
'They wanted to trade Carlo Cudicini but that wasn't anything which interested us. Now David's here to stay and it's up to him to get on with things.'
