Portsmouth's chief executive Mark Catlin has revealed that the windfall the club received in the Matt Clarke transfer won't change their financial approach this summer, as reported by the Portsmouth News.

The deal that took Clarke to Premier League Brighton was for an 'undisclosed fee', but reports suggest it could rise to as much as £5m, a huge sum of money for a League One side.

However, the Portsmouth chief executive confirmed that any spending would remain within the structure previously set out by the club.

"The finances are still there," he said.

"There remains a flexibility financially to do what we want, when we want, but it has to be done within a defined structure. If we go outside of that then we just become like every other team that throws money willy-nilly at players, The club have been there and we are not prepared to go down that route again."

Pompey have boosted their ranks following the sale of Clarke, with Ross McCrorie, Ellis Harrison and Sean Raggett joining the club.

Whilst McCrorie and Raggett are loan deals, Pompey have paid a fee for Harrison, albeit another undisclosed fee reported as being in the region of £450,000.

Pompey just missed out on promotion last season despite leading the table in the early part of the season. They ended up losing in their two-legged play-off semi-final against Sunderland, 1-0 on aggregate.

The Verdict

It seems wise not to overspend despite the windfall. In the past, Portsmouth have been guilty of just that and fans will be delighted to know there is a more frugal approach this time around.

That said, there is a fine balance to strike. Successful teams do need to splash a bit of cash when they have it and Portsmouth were looking a bit jaded at the end of last season.

The lack of creativity in those two matches against Sunderland has to be of concern and if there is money to spend, surely they should look to recruit someone in that area.

Harrison is a good start, but he can't score goals without assists coming from somewhere.