Shorey looks set to join Aston Villa, while Redknapp fears that he may also miss out on Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Younes Kaboul, with the Midlands club again leading the race for the Frenchman's signature.

Redknapp told The News: "Villa are still in front for Kaboul and they are also about to take Shorey.

"I was interested in Shorey so I'm disappointed, but we are going to have to sell one or two to do something. It's not a bottomless pit after all.

"You need to sell, really, to bring someone in. That is how it is and how it should be, it's not a problem. The owner has been fantastic. You can't criticise him. Realistically that's the way it is and there's nothing wrong in that.

"We have spent plenty of money and brought in a lot of good players. The owner cannot keep doing that, you can't expect it.

"We have to sell one or maybe two to bring someone else in and I accept that.

"We brought Jermain Defoe and Lassana Diarra in January. The fans have never seen such good players at Portsmouth. We've got a good squad.

"The owner has funded it. Sure, we've brought money in as well. We got £9million for Benji, but we have spent it as well."