TONY Adams could do with a little help from his more experienced friends in the management game, judging by the latest murmurings from Fratton Park.

Adams reckons he has told Portsmouth’s owner Alexandre Gaydamak that he will quit as manager if the club sells Jermain Defoe – or any other player he wants to keep – in January.

He’s got a lot to learn. Pompey, by all accounts, are feeling the financial strain; the club is up for sale and, if it suits their purpose to sell Defoe or any other player for that matter, they will do so without hesitation, whether the manager likes it or not.

That, dear Tony, is the way of the world.