Duo head Pompey exit list

Jason Pearce and Greg Halford were not included in Portsmouth's squad at Nottingham Forest due to agreements with potential suitors.

Pompey were already relegated to npower League One ahead of their 2-0 defeat to the Reds, and attention has swiftly switched to next season as the cash-strapped south-coast club look to get their finances in order and launch a bid for immediate promotion back to the Championship. Appleton acknowledges there could be as many as "17 or 18 players leaving the football club and the same number coming in", and star performers Pearce and Halford are set to be two of first to leave Fratton Park. "There are agreements in place with various clubs over Greg and Jason that they wouldn't play the game, which we had to abide to, because we need to recoup the money for their services," Appleton told Pompey's official website. "Benjani, Dave Kitson and Kanu didn't travel to the game. Their future has to be away from Fratton Park or this football club won't be able to survive, it's as simple as that. They have known that for a long, long time." Meanwhile, midfielder Kelvin Etuhu has stressed his desire to remain with Portsmouth. The Nigerian said: "I'd love to stay at Pompey. The manager gave me a chance to get back into football. I love the club, I love the staff and I love the fans - it would be very difficult for me to go somewhere else."