Neville Dalton is a journalist with the BBC News website and a
As the number of days since FA Cup glory grows, the countdown to our historic first competitive European game gathers momentum.
It may still be three months away, but no doubt Harry, Peter Storrie and Sasha Gaydamak are turning their attentions to our continental debut.
Well, they certainly should be. While I suppose some of us will be content to be able to say we have seen Pompey in
And while I may be no expert on what it takes to succeed in
Yes, we've got a great squad, and the forthcoming Euro 2008 championships - together with the recent
But we don't have the quality of squad necessary to sustain us through another challenging Premier League season (when I suspect we'll face several stronger sides than we did this year), while giving a decent account of ourselves in the Uefa Cup.
Not to mention the task of retaining our - that's OUR - FA Cup.
Even Redknapp has acknowledged that qualifying for
In a recent interview, he pointed to the likes of Bolton (who were so close to going down this year), who ended up sacrificing Uefa Cup matches for the sake of preserving their squad for their relegation fight.
And he admitted the number of extra games (assuming we get that far) could harm our league performances.
He said: "There are a lot of extra games and that can take it out of the players unless you have a big squad to cope."
Experience
I reckon he's spot-on there - and that's without taking into account Pompey's lack of European experience.
Sure, some individuals have many top-class European matches under their belts, but Portsmouth Football Club doesn't.
Nor - for all his experience and wonderful achievements - does Harry.
Even his front-line coaches - who have stood out as players in European club competition - have been out of the loop for a while, and certainly haven't coached at that level.
We're not yet masters of two-leg football; we don't have much first-hand experience of continental dirty tricks (though judging by what we see in the Premier League these days, we may know more than we think).
And who knows what foreign referees will make of our physical style?
And therein lie plenty of reasons why it's so important that not only does Harry bring in more players, but that they are the players of a calibre that enables us to compete decently in the Uefa Cup without threatening our steady progress in the Premier League.
And certainly, it's additional playing staff we need - not mere replacements, as has happened when the likes of Gary O'Neil, Matt Taylor and Benjani Mwaruwari were offloaded to fund the purchase of other players.
Therefore, I'm encouraged by the comments of Storrie, who told The News there was no need to let the likes of Niko Kranjcar and Lassana Diarra go, now that we were no longer a "selling club".
That's not to say they won't go. I sincerely hope they stay, not least since they are the sort of player who I believe will thrive in
But the murmurs of coveting among established top-class European clubs refuse to go away - and the next few weeks give both players the opportunity to enhance their reputations (not to mention transfer values).
But even if they do depart, it's vital that not only do we replace them (over to you, Harry!), but that we supplement them with other top-notch players as well as good-quality back-ups who could prove invaluable as we compete for the first time on four fronts in the coming season.
Tired bodies
In season 2008-9, Pompey not only need two players for every position, they need third-choice support in many areas, too - players who can hack it in the Premier League at least.
We're going to get injuries; we're going to get suspensions (especially if Sean Davis and Diarra stay); we're going to get losses of form.
And we're going to get a lot of tired bodies as we play (hopefully) Saturday-Thursday-Sunday, or worse still, Sunday-Thursday-Sunday.
Yet we're still going to face Manchester United away and Chelsea at home (or similar) within days of each other.
No question of fielding weakened teams against anyone in the Premier League if we're serious about continuing our magnificent progress of the past few years.
So that's big Sol Campbell at the San Siro on the Thursday night and the likes of Richard Dunne (or someone at least as good) at Old Trafford on the following Sunday.
Kanu against his old muckers at
Consistency is going to be much harder to achieve next season, as we add the complications of
No excuse for running out of energy or preserving it for the really big games, as we patently did in the weeks leading up to the FA Cup Final.
If we want to be even better next season and relinquish our hold on the old trophy only after the toughest of resistance, every game will be a big game.
That means more players, more class - and more competition.
The good news is that while
We've seen the miracles Harry has worked without the lure of European football. Just think who he might coerce into crossing the
I also believe that the thought of fighting on four fronts will improve our chances of keeping key players who might be under the threat of losing their first-team places.
Yes, Niko, Sol, Sylvain and Lassie might find their places jeopardised by top-class signings.
But they are wise enough to know that there should be enough games to go round now; for everyone to be kept happy and earn a much-needed rest every now and then into the bargain.
So I'm looking forward to a summer shopping list like never before and for us to be buying from Selfridges rather than Woolies now.
Top-class strikers, a pacy winger or two who can feed them, and cover along the back line are the sort of acquisitions that will keep the fans happy.
Keeping all those players happy - that's Harry's problem.