Pompey give Metgod the thumbs up

Tony Adams has made his first appointment as the Portsmouth manager by bringing in John Metgod as his first-team coach. The former Tottenham player had been on the coaching staff at Dutch side Feyenoord, where Adams was briefly involved as coach, and he revealed he is to link up with the former England captain again. Metgod said: "Tony Adams is a key figure in British football but his thinking is influenced by Dutch football."

Off the pitch the club could become the latest to change hands amid reports that owner Alexandre Gaydamak has held talks with South African mining giant Central Rand Gold. Gaydamak has been reportedly willing to listen to offers for the club that won the FA Cup in May and the Central Rand Gold chief executive Greg James and super agent Pini Zahavi are the prime movers behind a deal for a change of ownership.

Meanwhile, the Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear has been asked to explain his comments to the Football Association after branding Martin Atkinson a "Mickey Mouse" referee. Kinnear criticised Atkinson after Sunday's 2-1 loss to Fulham for missing what he felt was a foul in the build-up to the move that earned Fulham the penalty that won the game. * PA Sport