On this day: Milan Mandaric's Portsmouth confession as chairman weighs up Fratton departure

Pompey’s chairman denied rumours sweeping the city at the time that he was considering selling up in the face of a takeover bid.

But he admitted there were times when he found it a struggle to carry on.

Mandaric told The News at the time: ‘I have worked so hard, I don’t know if I’ll be alive. A few more games like the Wigan one, a few more sleepless nights, and they might not find me up for the next day.

‘I keep it inside me. I have to be up, supporting everyone and being calm. People don’t want to see me panicking.

‘I don’t think I’ll be involved in another club after Portsmouth.’

The Serb had pencilled in his departure from the club for 2008.

But he insisted he would not leave until he had built a new stadium and established Pompey as a mid-table Premiership side.

The then 67-year-old confessed his commitment to the club he bought in 1999 had affected his business and personal life.

Mandaric added: ‘Some people ask me what there is in it for me. I’ve given my life for the club and I wonder if I’m getting back the rewards.

‘I’ve spent six or seven precious years here. People talk about the money and time I’ve invested here. And I’ve lost in my other investments elsewhere.

‘But before I leave, I need to score the goal. That means building a stadium and establishing us as a solid Premier League club.

‘If I can do that, and get us established somewhere in mid-table, then I will have done my job.

'I imagine that will be in two or three years from now. So I’d be here next season and the season after that.

'Then I will have been at the club for nearly 10 years. Maybe that will be time to go.’