Dindane to sit out again

Posted Wednesday, March 24, 2010 by PA

Portsmouth boss Avram Grant is without striker Aruna Dindane for his side's home clash with Premier League title-chasers Chelsea on Wednesday.

The Ivorian has been declared unavailable by the club's administrators due to a clause in his loan deal from Lens, which states Pompey must pay the French side 4 million if he plays another game.

Tal Ben-Haim and John Utaka both have groin injuries and miss out, while Hassan Yebda and Kevin-Prince Boateng are away having treatment on knee and ankle injuries respectively.

The former Israel boss has accepted Dindane will not be at Fratton Park on Tuesday night.

But he hopes Pompey can broker a deal with the French side which will allow Dindane to finish the campaign in Hampshire.

With the Pompey squad already depleted and the player likely to be searching for pastures new in the summer, Grant believes a compromise would be best for all parties.

He said: "I don't know what the situation is. I've tried to find out about him. I think I will know more soon.

"The squad is very short in all areas - we especially don't have enough forwards and defenders.

"He's a great boy, a nice guy and for him, it would be great to play. For Lens, it would be great for him to play.

"Maybe he will score one or two goals and then they can sell him for a lot more money."

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech will return from injury.

Cech has been sidelined with a calf injury sustained against Inter Milan in the Champions League last month.

Deputy 'keeper Hilario misses out with a groin strain while Michael Essien (knee); Ashley Cole (ankle); and Jose Bosingwa (knee) are all sidelined along with Branislav Ivanovic (knee).

Coach Carlo Ancelotti has set his team a target of 86 points to win the Barclays Premier League.

Chelsea currently lie in third place with 65 points, but victory would leave them just a point behind leaders Manchester United with seven games remaining.

The Blues then face Aston Villa at home and United at Old Trafford, but Ancelotti insists the title can still be won and believes 86 points will be enough to guarantee them glory.

After their disappointing 1-1 draw with Blackburn on Sunday, Ancelotti wants his side to bounce back in style against Portsmouth and rekindle their title hopes.

"I like statistics and I think that, in the past, with 86 points every team has won the title," Ancelotti said. "I think that we need to get 86 points to win.

"We have less opportunity to win after last week because we lost two points at Blackburn, but we can have a chance again to win this title and we will do everything we can to do so. It's very important for us.

"Now I want to believe we can win the championship and I want to stay focused on my job and give my players knowledge to win their next games.

"I always said that I want to give respect to my players and I want to have respect. I think this is the right behaviour and I think that, this season, everything is right with the players. I am happy with my players' attitude.

"We are disappointed about the last matches. We are out of the Champions League and lost our position at the top of the table, but everyone has kept putting in the right behaviour. The players, the club, we want to stay together at this difficult moment. This is the best thing to do at this particular moment.

"We had possibilities to win more and we didn't, so for this we are disappointed, but we put more intensity into our jobs.

"We have to have more discipline on the pitch. We have to stay more focused on our defensive positions.

"When we don't win, we are disappointed, and above all the game against Blackburn because it was a very important game, but we have a possibility to come back and win.

"We need to win to close this moment. I'm sure that, with a victory, this moment will be behind us."