Wolves to pounce for Redknapp

News: Wolverhampton Wanderers said last night they would like to hire Harry Redknapp as manager after he and his assistant Jim Smith resigned from Portsmouth.

Redknapp decided he could no longer work with the chairman Milan Mandaric and executive director Velimir Zajec.

Redknapp felt his position had been compromised by the arrival of Zajec. At Molineux, a source said: "Obviously you have to interested in a candidate of his calibre."

Redknapp was not available for comment.

He satisfies Wolves' criteria: his teams play attractive football, he has experience of getting promotion to the Premiership and he has an extensive knowledge of the game. Redknapp also has experience of dealing with international players, a quality Wolves' chief executive Jez Moxey said was essential in his programme notes for last Saturday's game against Coventry City.

Moxey confirmed yesterday the second round of interviews was about to begin, but many believe Wolves have been waiting for Redknapp and Smith to become available.

Zajec will take charge of Portsmouth for their game at Bolton on Saturday and will have a major role in deciding on a replacement. Gordon Strachan has already ruled himself out of the running. Redknapp (57), walked away from a contract that had a year and a half to run and was worth £2.25 million.

"It was my decision and something I have been thinking about for some time," he said. "I made it without any pressure from the chairman or the board. I feel very proud of both my own and the club's achievements over the last two and half years, leaving them in an excellent position."

"If you believe Harry has left to take a break from football you will believe anything," said Smith. "The writing has been on the wall for months. Velimir Zajec coming in was a major factor but it was not the only thing. Things have not been right for some time."

Last season Redknapp and Mandaric fell out over Smith's future. Mandaric said he had been caught "a little bit by surprise" by Redknapp's departure but added: "We have been talking about Harry leaving for some time. I knew he would go, unfortunately. He has done a wonderful job."

Redknapp took over in March 2002 with the club struggling to stay in the first division. He leaves them 12th in the Premiership and in the last eight of the Carling Cup.

"He spoke about maybe wanting to recharge his batteries after an exhausting period where he has helped transform this club from first division strugglers to Premier League survivors," Mandaric said.

"People will obviously make their own minds up and say that Harry has stepped down for the reasons that have been intensely speculated over in the media. That could not be further from the truth but then the speculations were pretty wide of the mark also. The truth is Harry sees this as a perfect opportunity to bow out."

"I can understand his position," said David Unsworth, the Portsmouth defender. "When you look at what he's achieved and the players he has brought in, what more could he do for the club? It's a big shock and a big disappointment. I'm flabbergasted."

Nigel Tressider, the supporters' club chairman, said: "Harry is the best manager we have ever had and whoever takes over will have an impossible job. We all wanted Harry to stay and thought we had the right team there with him, Jim and Milan, but now I fear there could be a mass exodus of players. I thought we were starting to get somewhere after many dark years but this has set us back badly."