Pompey boss thankful he doesn't have to sell assets

But the Blues boss explained the club’s staff will be planning for all eventualities when it comes to players departing this summer.

Speculation over Matt Clarke’s future looks set to remain centre stage across the coming weeks.

There’s been interest shown in the Blues’ most bankable asset, who’s said he couldn’t guarantee he’d be at the club when the 2018-19 campaign begins.

Jamal Lowe’s emergence last season, has also marked him out as a player who will be generating interest.

Pompey’s owners have no interest in cashing in on the club’s key assets, however.

And Jackett is thankful he can go about the task of getting Pompey into the Championship safe in that knowledge.

He said: ‘We’re not a club who’s saying we have to sell a player to survive.

‘The owners have been fantastic that way.

‘We’re not saying we have to sell a player to regenerate or pay the bills.

‘That’s good and there’s a very consistent approach in terms of budget and in terms of improving.’

Despite the reassurance over not being forced to sell, Jackett and his team will continue to look at recruitment in all areas should there be any surprises.

He added: ‘If we lost any player we’d want to replace, there is no doubt about that.

‘But, for our owners and Mark Catlin, they’d want to be competitive.

‘They’d not want to lose a player and there to just be a hole in the team. We’d want to react. So we work at recruitment for all areas and all positions.’

- JORDAN CROSS