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Hart waits on embargo news

Image: Hart: Looking to January

Portsmouth manager Paul Hart still does not know if he will be able to sign players when the January transfer window opens.

Portsmouth boss in dark over January

Portsmouth manager Paul Hart still does not know if he will be able to sign players when the January transfer window opens. Pompey currently have a transfer ban embargo imposed on them by the Premier League, due to unpaid fees to Arsenal and Chelsea for the transfers of Lassana Diarra and Glen Johnson respectively. Hart, though, is hopeful that the situation will soon be resolved. "As I understand it, we're still dealing with that," said Hart. "I've just been told it will be sorted pretty soon - well, it ranges from pretty soon to just before the deadline. "I'll wait until I'm told but I know it hasn't been lifted yet." Hart is hoping he can soon holds talks with owner Ali Al-Faraj about the club's future. "I've had some preliminary talks with two of his advisors and more talks will take place in the next few weeks I would hope," he continued. "Once we get down to more succinct talks and conversations, we'll have a little bit more direction and will know where we're going then. "They were preliminary talks that will lead to others and the detail of them wasn't great. There needs to be other talks but they're not in my diary yet.

Algerian wait

Looking ahead to the weekend's trip to Stoke City, Hart is waiting to see how his Algerian duo Hassan Yebda and Nadir Belhadj are when they return. "They are back Saturday morning, they have had a horrendous week in terms of travelling so we will be assessing them in the morning," he said. "I wouldn't like to say [if they will play] until I have seen them and having a good look." Another player who could be involved is Hermann Hreidarsson, who has not played this season because of a tendon injury. "We are monitoring him daily, he had no reaction from a game in the week so we are having a look at him, whether it is right - we don't know yet, but it is great to have him around," said Hart. "He is a great character - larger than life, and a bit of a head case - in a nice way."

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