PORTSMOUTH boss Avram Grant admits it is becoming tough for his players to ignore the cash-strapped club’s off-the-field issues.
The Israeli’s side were held 1-1 by Coventry in their FA Cup third round tie at Fratton Park, with Kevin-Prince Boateng cancelling out David Bell’s opener for the Sky Blues.
Following a disappointing display in front of just 11,214 fans, hundreds of Pompey followers laid siege to the directors’ entrance in Frogmore Road for an hour after the final whistle.
With their club struggling to pay their players for the third time this season and facing a winding-up petition in the High Court, the disgruntled supporters demanded answers from absent owner Ali Al Faraj.
Chants of ‘‘Where’s the owner of our club?’’ and ‘‘The owner is a coward’’ reverberated throughout the corridors of the ground.
Grant says it has become increasingly difficult to focus on matters on the field and admits it is hard to keep the team’s financial problems off the players’ minds.
He said: ‘‘It’s not easy because players and managers like me are used to dealing with problems on the pitch.
‘‘When there is a problem off the pitch, you cannot say to the players ‘Oh, it’s nothing.’ ‘‘They know there is a problem but still, when they come to the pitch they need to give their best.’’ Another major hurdle the Premier League’s bottom club faces is being unable to recruit players this month after they received a transfer embargo in November.
This was due to the fact they still owe money to Arsenal and Chelsea for signing Lassana Diarra and Glen Johnson respectively.
Grant has lost four first team regulars for the next month, as Kanu, Hassan Yebda, Nadir Belhadj and Aruna Dindane have joined up with their national sides for the African Nations Cup.
Meanwhile, on-loan midfielder Jamie O’Hara has returned to Tottenham after his loan deal expired and there are severe doubts over whether he will be able to return.
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