Portsmouth defender Jason Pearce has admitted that he thought he might have been on his way out of Pompey prior to the transfer window closing last night. The Blues, who had a £1 million offer accepted for his team-mates Joel Ward and Stephen Henderson before they turned down the move after failing to agree personal terms, were amongst three Championship clubs to have bids for the 24-year-old centre-half rebuffed.

Pearce said: "I have to admit, I thought there could have been a chance I could have been going. My head has been all over the place over the past couple of days. I didn't want to go but I thought I may be forced out because of the club's problems.

"Luckily though, the club wanted to keep me. People already know I wanted to stay and be part of, hopefully, a good future at the club.

"The manager made it very clear he didn't want to let me go and I was keen to stay. I knew it might not have come down to my decision with the club needing funds. Thankfully, I'm still here though, which is just what I wanted."

Speaking after last night’s 5-1 victory over West Ham, Blues boss Paul Jewell wasn’t ruling out looking at the situation again when Football League clubs are able to sign players on loan in a week's time. In the case of the Pompey trio presumably on the basis of initial loans with the deals being made permanent in the summer.

Photo: Action Images

Photo: Action Images

WoodfordTim added 15:38 - Feb 1 Seems all a bit fishy. No doubt the 20th February court hearing will force the issue one way or another for PFC. Maybe they will not get away with it like last time & the club will be shut down. Then with a "fire sale" of assets PFC may not get good value in the transfer market. Brinkmanship, perhaps? If PFC do weather this, they no doubt would raise more in transfer fees during the summer than this January window. More to it all, I think. Maybe PFC have a backer in mind to save them.

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shaunminx added 15:40 - Feb 1 @Bleedingblue I knew what I meant and sure you had a rough idea!!! Couldn't agree more though hopefully they can get some confidence from last night and hopefully gel together. Yes neither of them are the best in the world but if they can form a partnership then maybe just maybe they'll do ok for the rest of the season.
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Surco72 added 15:41 - Feb 1 Would rather have Titus on loan with view to permanent move home than the pompey boys ,they will be docked points soon and relegated taking greedy Norris with them
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pompandglory added 15:58 - Feb 1 Perhaps if your club had offered a good enough money for our players, you would I am sure have got them, well done last night as well, and i'm sure the players that you were after will play very well against you on the 14th if they have read some of the remarks on this site.They are good honest players with PFC blood in their veins. As for going skint don't believe it, someone will buy us before then. Good luck for the rest of the season you will need it.

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Keaneish added 16:04 - Feb 1 Bit of a gamble though eh pompandglory? 19 days to save the club when Ward and Henderson could have done it for you? No-one's knocking their loyalty but you have to question how their loyalty is best served; saving the club by leaving or risking it's future by staying. Not an easy situation for anyone! Personally although i'd love all three of them to have come, i'm glad we didn't throw cash at it as we've learnt from that mistake when we were in administration. As for the luck, Coventry away will determine if we need that or not.

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Warkystache added 16:08 - Feb 1 pompandglory - I believe we tried to get your players on the cheap as it were, but if they don't fancy it, they don't fancy it and we move on to other options. You are skint, and in serious trouble though. I hope for your sake that some mug does buy you, because the alternatives don't bear thinking about!! Still, phoenix from the flames and all that. You never know, building a new club might just be a laugh. Look at AFC Wimbledon. Of course, it'd mean that Saints nearest serious rivals would be Eastleigh, but hey.

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StowTractorBoy added 16:16 - Feb 1 I believe the Pompey boys are living in the hope that a buyer will come in to rescue the Club at the last minute. This will have to be done before 20th Feb but is a big ask for an investor with the state the Club is in. I can understand the local boys wanting to stay and credit to them for being loyal. Matt Holland, Hermann nor Ambrose wanted to leave us but in the end they had to go very cheaply so we may still get one of the Pompey boys. Lambasting them on here is in my opinion unecessary as I am sure they had very tough decisions to make.

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CornardBlue added 16:46 - Feb 1 In all this i feel sorry for the true Portsmouth supporters. But i feel it is time the League shut them down they have been living above there means for years paying high wages for players all with crowds far below what Ipswich get, it seems every other season Pompey are in trouble. Typical example is Norris, they must have known then they could not afford his contract. As for the 3 players we bid for, the tax man will have his money before you get your wages and you might live to regret not joining Ipswich.

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Lightningboy added 16:48 - Feb 1 I for one hope we don't go anywhere near these 3 again...good for you mate if you're showing your loyalty to your home town club but at what cost in the long run?...I think with most players that turn down clubs it should be a case of "if we're not good enough for you,you certainly aren't good enough for us". Let's move on to better targets.
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jert16 added 16:50 - Feb 1 Dissapointed that we didnt get Pearce as he is a proper defender and he seems to be a real character.. Fair play to him for his loyalty, he is a pompey boy after all so respect to him for that! Now we have to make sure we are still in this division in the summer which i am sure we will be and have to make getting a defender of his ilk a priority - an absolute must! we can not make the same mistake again! COYB!!!!

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dirtyboy added 16:51 - Feb 1 Nice to see him keeping shut up during the offers, and when it fell through, he came out and said the right things for his current fans. Sounds like a decent lad, and no-one likes moving because they have to. Good luck to him I say.
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ChestnutSe added 16:52 - Feb 1 Footballers have the choice on whether they want to accept a new job with a new employer and new wages or not. The players are in a no lose situation. If the club gets rescued they get all their back pay anyway becuase the Football League won't let them keep their licence unless the players are all paid up. If they have to be sold to keep the club afloat they can take their pick and negotiate what they can negotiate. If the club goes out of business entirely (an unlikely scenario) then they become free agents and can negotiate inflated salaries or signing on fees becuase there is no transfer fee involved. Who would want PJ's job of trying to get hold of good players that everybody wants? I remember a certain Matt Holland choosing to go to Charlton for bugger all rather than to Aston Villa who were prepared to pay Town a lot more for him (£4m vs £1m from Charlton if I remeber correctly).

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afrodids added 17:04 - Feb 1 On a positive note if pompey do go t*ts up we might get their players even cheaper in the summer. For now we need to concentrate on building on last nights win and get a result at Coventry. We have some quality youngsters who will only get better. Carson in for Murphy and keep ALB in goal send that other muppet back to reading! COYB
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Strikes added 17:04 - Feb 1 I love my club, but if I were a footballer and had to move on to give it a chance of survival, I'd do it. Probably because I'm not greedy and could quite easily live on five grand a week, thanks. Talk is cheap. Tax bills are expensive. Expect AFC Portsmouth to make a serious challenge for the Blue Square Premier in four years time.
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Vizslaraner added 17:14 - Feb 1 I rate all three of these players and would of loved them to of signed. However, the rumours about them not wanting to come were true. As far as I'm concerned I don't want any of them now, let them stay there with the mercenary Norris. In a months time they will wish they had come when they haven't been paid. I predict at least another two owners in the next two years and whats the betting that they end up in trouble again in the near future (and Pearce talks about a good future ahead). Something needs to be done about Pompey, they are an utter joke. This is a great club and we don't individuals like this.

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Marcus added 17:24 - Feb 1 It's nice to hear some loyalty. Read between the lines a bit. There's a difference between not wanting to leave Pompey and not wanting to join Ipswich (which none of them ever said).
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Tractastic added 17:37 - Feb 1 Nice to see loyalty in this day and age from footballers but the Portsmouth trio by staying put are showing a great deal of naivity and a distinct lack of ambition. Maybe they still live at home with their parents? Time to move on to players who want to play for the badge. Yes please to Titus.
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StowTractorBoy added 18:15 - Feb 1 Cornard Blue I think you will find that all football related debts which includes salaries have to be paid first so the HMRC are the last in the food chain. This has infuriated the Revenue as they have lost millions in revenue from Clubs going into administration. Pompey could find themselves with a no sympathy vote on 20th Feb from HMRC if they have not found new owners. We should be very thankful for what we have in Mr Evans.

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BluedanW added 18:59 - Feb 1 Why is everyone slagging off pearce? The reports said that we agreed a price for Henderson and ward, and they couldn't agree personal terms. There was no mention of pearce! So Portsmouth turned down our offers for him, not Pearce refusing terms.
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pointofblue added 19:53 - Feb 1 The Portsmouth situation is mystifying and I don't think any of us should try and judge it from afar. I have the feeling the club are looking to go into administration and then fight to recoup the point deficit, which they are definitely capable of, with the squad they have. The administrators accepted our offer for Henderson and Ward but they couldn't have twisted the players arms to leave - especially considering Henderson was declaring he was staying on Twitter before our offer was even accepted. Basically either the administrators are under orders from the Pompey board (and shouldn't it be the other way around?) or they have another card up their sleeve. I hope for the sake of the Portsmouth fans that it's the latter.

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smorley added 20:31 - Feb 1 If players have no heart in coming and playing for our beloved ITFC then let them stay where they are welcolme!!! Let's get players in who have commitment and passion for the club....
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alljezer added 20:41 - Feb 1 Bye. Your gonna sink with those losers. Jason Pearce
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jas0999 added 21:27 - Feb 1 PJ and Cleggs failure to bring in 2 x CB's, a RB and a GK should mean that both leave the club. Why on earth we spent all window tracking players who quite clearly didn't want to join us is amateur at best. Pathetic by PJ and Clegg. Simply pathetic. Both should go.
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arablue added 00:55 - Feb 2 Either that Pearce boy is a well brought-up honest kid who loves to play for the club that was supposed to pay his salary (on time and all that) or Pompey has got one of the best PR firm guiding the message and comms coming out of Fratton Park...
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brittaniaman added 08:59 - Feb 2 I went on to the Pompey forum,, and fans on there are saying, we hope that we do not regret those players refusing to move ???? and we do not finish up with egg on our faces for there loyalty !!!!! WE DO LIVE IN THE REAL WORLD !!!!!. There is a possible chance that the club could fold,, because we just cannot pay our bills ????? So when those players get paid goodness knows,, we are in financial dire straits, but we have got a decent team at the moment !!!!!!!!!

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