It’s been a testing fortnight for Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie. Firstly, he’s had to deal with the incessant speculation regarding the possibility of manager Harry Redknapp joining Newcastle, before the Pompey gaffer decided to stay put on the South Coast. The News is now reporting that Storrie has told several of the club’s senior players to stop bleating about Portsmouth’s supposed lack of ambition in the transfer market.
He said: ‘We don’t talk about how the players play, so they shouldn’t talk about the money the club has spent.
‘How can someone like Sol go around and keep saying these things? We are one of the top spenders in the Premier League.
‘We are puzzled as to why he keeps making these statements and comments.
‘We have never, ever spent as much as we have done this season.
‘Just look at the quality of the squad at the moment, just look at the progress this club is making.
‘It’s frustrating that our own players are saying this. I wish they would just concentrate on playing.
‘I realise it shows they care and want to be part of what we are trying to achieve here, which is great, but sometimes they don’t understand and make these silly statements.
‘Some of these players have already forgotten how much we spent in the summer.’
Pompey are not the only club to have refrained from spending this month, although by the same token, they have arguably been hit hardest of all by the departure of several squad members to play in the African Nations Cup.