Paul Hart is desperate to repay the faith shown in him by the Portsmouth board by keeping the club in the Barclays Premier League.

Hart was promoted from his job working on the club's youth development programme on a match-by-match basis following Tony Adams' sacking last month.
A string of big names were linked with the post, including former Chelsea boss Avram Grant and one-time England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.

But, having brought in former Blackburn boss Brian Kidd as his number two, Hart has shown a steady enough hand to be awarded the job until the end of the season.

His mandate is clear - to retain Pompey's top-flight status - and it is a task he is eager to succeed in.

"I'm delighted. I took this job for one game just to help out but to keep it for the rest of the season is an honour," Hart told www.portsmouthfc.co.uk.

"There's been a lot of trust put in me to keep Pompey in the Premier League and I want to repay that trust.

"It's good for the club and the players that a decision has been made. I feel very fortunate to be the recipient of that decision.

"We can plan a bit further on now and hopefully do what we're here to do, which is keep this club in the Premier League."

Adams' brief and unhappy tenure was undermined by rumours of a dressing room that was not fully supportive of their manager or his methods, but Hart is delighted by the attitude of his squad.

They beat Manchester City 2-0 in his first match at the helm, before drawing with Stoke and narrowly missing out on a point against title hopefuls Chelsea.

Despite that promising run, they remain just one point and one place above the relegation zone, meaning Hart and Kidd have plenty more hard work in front of them.

"They've given everything for me in the last three games and done everything we've asked of them," continued Hart.

"Brian and I are very, very pleased. We've got a great bunch of players but we know that we still have a tough job.

"We're enjoying what we're doing and the response from the players has been terrific from minute one."