O'Hara not allowed to face Sky Blues
Jamie O'Hara will not be allowed to play in Pompey's FA Cup clash with Coventry on Saturday.
But Peter Storrie is confident of keeping the influential midfielder for the rest of the season.
Spurs have instructed the Blues they do not want the on-loan O'Hara cup tied.
It means he will have to sit out Saturday's third-round fixture with the Sky Blues at Fratton Park.
In the longer term, however, Avram Grant is eager to retain him for the remainder of the campaign as he looks to keep Pompey in the Premier League.
As it stands, O'Hara's initial loan agreement expires on January 15.
That would leave him with just one more match – a trip to Fulham – before returning to White Hart Lane.
Yet Spurs boss Harry Redknapp has already given the green light for the 22-year-old to extend his south-coast stay until the end of the season.
The only sticking point is the Premier League transfer embargo still in place on Pompey. However, chief executive Storrie is hopeful league officials will give the loan extension the go-ahead on the basis O'Hara is already at Fratton Park.
In addition, by the time the existing loan deal expires, the embargo may have already been lifted.
Storrie told The News: 'Jamie will not be able to play at the weekend as Spurs don't want him cup tied.
'At the moment he is on loan until January 15 – but we are looking to extend that.
'Avram wants him to stay and Harry Redknapp is also happy with him staying and has said that publicly.
'We are now talking to the Premier League about whether they will grant it with the embargo in place – but it may well be lifted by then anyway.'
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Weather for Portsmouth
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South east
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Sunny
Temperature: -4 C to 2 C
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