History of Portsmouth F.C. place, thanks to academy director Paul Hart stepping in as caretaker boss, seven points clear of the relegated clubs, despite the disruption brought by the departure of Harry Redknapp and the subsequent sacking of his successor, former assistant manager Tony Adams. At the start of the 2008–09 season rumours began to fly around that Portsmouth were facing crippling debts due to their recent heavy spending and owner Alexandre Gaydamak was looking to sell the club. After Redknapp's departure many key players began to depart with Lassana Diarra and Jermain Defoe leaving in January. In May 2009, Sulaiman Al-Fahim had a
History of Portsmouth F.C. proposed appointing another director in November, with responsibility for the youth set-up at the club. Redknapp disapproved of the proposal, but Mandarić pressed ahead and appointed Velimir Zajec. Redknapp, along with his assistant Jim Smith, subsequently resigned with immediate effect on 23 November. Zajec took over as manager, initially as caretaker, then on 20 December 2004 the club announced that he would manage the team for the remainder of the season. Their first game under Zajec was a 1–0 away win over Bolton in a hard-fought match where Portsmouth captain Arjan de Zeeuw and Bolton striker El Hadji Diouf had