Ever since the club was put in to administration on February 26, staff have been desperate to know if their jobs were on the line.

Days ago, administrator Andrew Andronikou revealed to The News that yesterday would be the day the axe fell.

Tension consumed the offices at Fratton Park and the club's training ground.

Who will go? How many? And – more importantly – is my job safe?

As staff came in to work yesterday morning, they knew it could go either way.

And for 85 of them, they woke up this morning unemployed.

It was a tense and emotional day behind the scenes at Fratton Park as staff were given times for meetings where they learned their fate.

The club's shops were shut all day as staff made their way to the ground.

Staff being fired were taken into the boardroom, while those staying were ushered into chief executive Peter Storrie's office to renegotiate their contracts to take a pay cut.

Storrie, the club's highest earner off the pitch, escaped the chop himself.

So did highly-paid head finance Tanya Robins – who watched on from the back of the room at yesterday's 5pm press conference at Fratton Park.

It was the club's lesser-paid staff who had bore the brunt of the damage earlier in the day.

All told, around 20 per cent of the club's 166 full-time staff have gone, the remainder of redundancies being part-time employees.

From the club kit washer to security staff, receptionists and admin personnel, no-one was safe as the axe fell – except the club's high earners it seems.

After each round of meetings, fired staff emerged from the club's Frogmore Road offices dejected.

Some consoled themselves with a drink in the nearby Good Companion pub, angry and disillusioned that others on salaries at least 10 times higher had kept their job.

One ex-employee, who does not want to be named, said: 'It's a joke. The way we were told was disgraceful. It was completely disorganised. This position has occurred because of mismanagement. None of the board have gone. Peter Storrie wasn't even there.'

Another ex-worker said: 'There are people there who earn more in a week than we do in a year. It's disgusting.

'The redundancy forms weren't even signed, It was a printed signature. There wasn't any personal touch at all.'

One staff member from the Pompey Youth Academy, who didn't want to be named, said he was three weeks short of being entitled to redundancy money. He will now have to rely on the government's statutory redundancy cash, which is likely to take weeks to come through.

He said: 'I asked them if there was any dialogue about possibly taking a pay cut and they told that hadn't been considered.

'I'm still taking it in. I hope there's a buyer found, there might still be a chance of getting my job back. I'm absolutely gutted.'

Fan Bob Beech, of SOS Pompey, also reacted with anger. He said: 'We've got a lame duck CEO who must be the highest paid tea boy in the country. Why Peter Storrie is still at the club is beyond me. Even with taking a 40 per cent cut, his wages are many times more than a lot of the staff who've gone put together. Why hasn't he gone? It just doesn't add up.'

Meanwhile, Tug Wilson, training ground manager, lost his job but remained positive.

He said: 'It's been a very bad day for a lot of people but it is not a sad day for me. I've worked here for eight and a half years and I've enjoyed my time at Portsmouth.

'I wish the club all the best and all the success in the world.'

After a horrendous day for staff at the club, the administrator turned his sights to facing the media.

Journalists in the packed media centre on Frogmore Road grilled his decision to let lower-level staff go ahead of big earners.

Responding, Mr Andronikou said: 'No-one is walking away. As I said before, on day one when I arrived here, this will be an ongoing situation, reviewing the situation from top to bottom.'

The administrator said the decision had been a hard one to make.

He added: 'Today has been extremely difficult.

'There's always a day in administration when you have to look at yourself and wonder whether you like the job you do.'

In the meantime, he said his priority now is to find 'the right buyer' for the club.

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