Avram Grant has been named manager of the English Premier League football club Portsmouth to replace Paul Hart who was sacked earlier this week.
Grant will take charge of the league's bottom team for the home game against Manchester United this weekend in his role as director of football. The club will then apply to switch his work permit status to manager.
The 54-year-old former Portsmouth technical director returned in October shortly after Saudi Arabian businessman Ali al Faraj's takeover of the south-coast club.
Grant was at Portsmouth for 13 months from June 2006 before replacing Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and, despite becoming the only manager to take the west London club to the Champions League final, he was sacked in May 2008.
The Israeli faces a very different challenge at Portsmouth trying to keep the club in the Premier League.
Portsmouth have endured a miserable season, having became the first English top-flight side in 79 years to lose their opening seven games of the campaign.
They are four points below the safety zone after 13 games with their position unlikely to improve with matches against United, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal this year.
