Paul Hart took over as manager of Rushden & Diamonds, following the departure of Barry Hunter. After an average start to the season, Diamonds embarked on an eight match winless run, leading to Hart leaving the club in October by mutual consent. Hart joined Premier League club Portsmouth as Director of Youth Operations in 2007. He was asked to take over as caretaker manager, initially for one game only following the sacking of Tony Adams on 9 February 2009. Shortly afterwards, Hart brought Brian Kidd in as his assistant. He won his first game in charge 2–0 at home to Manchester City
Paul Hart the club to become the manager of the England under-21 team. After less than a month of his tenure, Hart made his entire squad available for transfer, after being informed he had to drastically reduce the wage bill to avoid the club going into financial ruin. As a result, Hart lost several experienced and key players, notably Andy Johnson to West Bromwich Albion for £200,000, Alan Rogers to Leicester City for an undisclosed fee, and Stern John to Birmingham City for £100,000. During the 2002–03 season, with the financial problems alleviated somewhat, and having the benefit of a settled side,