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Hart voices Cup of Nations concerns
Portsmouth, 12:43, November 10, 2009 ,
Paul Hart has warned the African Cup of Nations will 'take the spine out' of his Pompey team but wouldn't comment on transfer plans.
The struggling south coast side could be without up to six players in January when the tournament takes place in Angola, with fixtures against fellow relegation candidates West Ham and Birmingham City taking place during that period.
Nigerian duo Nwankwo Kanu and John Utaka, Algerians Hassan Yebda and Nadir Belhadj and Ivory Coast striker Aruna Dindane are all expected to depart Fratton Park for the tournament, while midfielder Kevin Prince-Boateng may opt to represent Ghana despite being born in Germany as he has dual citizenship.
Hart admitted his squad will be heavily hit by the African Cup of Nations but claimed that signing new players was not necessarily the solution to his problem.
He said: "I brought it to people's notice a month ago, because it will take the spine out of the team and could be a difficult situation.
"I think Boateng wants to play for Ghana, so I couldn't stand in his way.
"We have priorities for January if we do anything in the transfer market.
"But who is to say that January is a good time to buy players anyway? Historically it's not.
"I'm not so sure it is the best time, so it is not as simple as just getting a load of money and splashing it.
"Who is going to let their best players go in January, so what do you actually end up getting?"