MANAGER Alan Ball faces an uncertain and anxious few days fol-lowing Pompey's 2-0 final-day defeat Bolton.

Rumours had swept Fratton Park after the final whistle that Ball had resigned following a successful - but as yet undisclosed - bid for the club in the wake of talks which have not included the Pompey boss.

''I have not resigned,'' stressed Ball. ''I have got a contract here and I will be back on July 1. But I am disappointed that I have not been involved in discussions about the future of this club.

''At present I don't even know if the club has been sold or not.''

Ball also strongly hinted that he feels he may not figure in the immediate future of Portsmouth: ''It's the law of the jungle that when somebody new comes in they bring their own people in with them.

''Any new people may have their own plans for this club - for now I am in limbo.''

Bolton, who are now head-ing for the Division 1 play-offs, never looked in any real danger once they had established a 21st-minute lead. A neat build-up saw Wanderers' industrious mid-fielder Claus Jensen break clear down the right before slipping a neat ball into Michael Johansen who blasted past Alan Knight from 12 yards.

The veteran keeper made a series of fine stops to keep Wanderers at bay but Knight was a watching admirer as his opposite number Steve Banks pro-duced a superlative save from Stefani Miglioranzi - one his namesake Gordon would have been proud of.

Jeff Peron swung in a teasing 65th-minute cross from the left which was met full on the volley by the impressive Brazilian only to see Banks hurl himself to his right and throw out a hand to palm his shot away.

From a possi-ble 1-1 score-line, it went to 2-0 just 90 seconds later as Johansen floated in a right-wing delivery that was butted in at the near post by Eidur Gudjohnsen.

Pompey's hopes of a pas-sage back into the game dis-appeared when Steve Claridge planted a header wide from ten yards while Bolton almost added a third late on when Per Frandsen hit the upright.

Ball reflected: ''There's little doubt that Banks' save turned the match - had we scored then who knows what might of happened - it's one of the best saves I've ever seen.''

Referring to the three matches that lie between his side and a place in the Premiership next season, Bolton manager Colin Todd said: "Our season starts now.'' But Ball left Fratton Park wondering if he will still be in charge when Bolton play Ipswich next Sunday.

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