Portsmouth have sacked their manager, Terry Fenwick, only hours after his friend and mentor Terry Venables walked out of the club.

Assistant boss Keith Waldon will take charge of the struggling club, who are bottom of the First Division, for Wednesday's FA Cup third-round replay at Aston Villa.

The 38-year-old former Tottenham and England defender was relieved of his duties following a telephone conversation with managing director Martin Gregory on Tuesday.

Fenwick's dismissal came just 24 hours after Portsmouth chairman Terry Venables, who bought into the club for £1, agreed to leave the club after receiving a cash payout of around £250,000.

Played for Venables

Fenwick, who played under Venables at QPR and Spurs, was appointed almost three years ago as a replacement for Jim Smith.

He was recommended for the job by Venables, who later arrived at Fratton Park in a deal with Gregory.

Fenwick, capped 20 times by his country, guided Pompey to the FA Cup quarter-finals last season, but this season the team has struggled and is facing the prospect of relegation to the Second Division.

Portsmouth have lost 14 of their 25 league matches and have been bottom of the table since Christmas.

Final straw

The final straw for the board proved to be a 3-0 defeat at home to fellow strugglers Manchester City on Saturday.

The hot favourite for the job is Chris Kamara, a former Portsmouth player, who was sacked as manager of Bradford City earlier this month.

Kamara went despite leading Bradford to the top of the Nationwide Division One at the start of the season, their highest league position for 40 years.
 

Back to top | BBC News Home | BBC Homepage	©