Ex-Portsmouth, Leeds and Nottingham Forest boss quits to spend more time with his family

Charlton have announced the 71-year-old has stepped down from his role as assistant manager to Nathan Jones.

Hart followed Jones to The Valley in February, having previously worked together at Stoke and Luton.

However, he is now leaving the League One club, with Curtis Fleming promoted from assistant head coach to take over, with the Addicks currently third in the table.

For Hart, it appears to end a long career in management and coaching at youth and first-team level, including a nine-and-a-half month Fratton Park spell.

He told Charlton’s official website: ‘I have really enjoyed returning to Charlton, a club that is very close to my heart. It was great to get the opportunity to work with Nathan again and I was pleased with the progress we were able to make in the last few months of last season.

‘Nathan has an excellent staff and structure around him and I have no doubt that there is an exciting future for the club under him.

‘With that in mind I felt the time was right for me to step away from the day-to-day nature of the role and the travel that entails to allow me to spend more time with my family.

‘I’ll be keeping a close eye on Charlton’s progress and wish the club nothing but success for the future.’

Hart stepped up from his role as Pompey director of youth operations to replace Tony Adams in February 2009, initially as caretaker boss.

After helping keep the Blues in the Premier League in 2008-09, he was appointed permanently in July 2009, although it conceded with huge financial problems off the pitch.

He was dismissed in November 2009 with Pompey rooted to the bottom of the Premier League, with director of football Avram Grant replacing him.

Hart later managed QPR and Swindon, while also had stints as caretaker boss at Crystal Palace and Notts County.

Nathan Jones added: ‘Paul has been a massive influence on my career since the time I met him in 2012. He’s someone I’ve kept by my side for a long, long time.

‘He’s been through almost every situation in football, so as I was embarking on my managerial career it was vital I had someone that I could trust and someone who cared about my development.

‘I’m sad to see him step down, he’s a big character and a big influence on individuals but I totally respect his decision to step down at this time and understand that the family, the travelling and the commitment it takes to be involved in a football club is a lot.

‘I’m grateful that Paul was able to come back with us to Charlton, to get us to settle in and help us achieve our goal. Paul is not just a mentor now, he’s one of my closest, if not my closest friend - I’ll continue to lean on him.”