Loanee makes Pompey exit

The Fulham midfielder, who joined the Blues on a month’s loan deal at the end of September, played just twice for the Blues and was an unused substitute for the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

Joint caretaker boss Guy Whittingham confirmed the Norwegian would not be extending his stay and would now be heading back to Craven Cottage.

Whittingham said: ‘Bjorn will not be staying. It just hasn’t worked out for him, unfortunately.

‘I’ve been in that situation myself where you go on loan somewhere and it doesn’t happen for you.

‘But he’s been a great professional and I still think he’s enjoyed being here. We’ve enjoyed having him here.

‘He understood the situation and he’s been fine with it. It was the right decision to bring him in. He added to the squad and helped the competition for places.’

Fellow loanee Abdul Razak made his first start for Pompey in an unfamiliar position on the right of midfield on Saturday after Liam Lawrence was ruled out through an ankle injury.

The Blues’ skipper has withdrawn from the Republic of Ireland’s squad for their Euro 2012 play-off with Estonia after he was assessed by the Irish medical team.

Whittingham said: ‘Liam wasn’t bad. He went away with Ireland and whether he is fit or not was down to them.

‘It was probably about 70/30 against as to whether he played. It would have been too much of a risk for us to play him against Forest.

‘Razak’s not used to that position on the right but he did okay. He is a young lad learning his trade but you can see some of his quality.’