* Hart sacked after just two wins from 13 league games

* Former manager declines technical director role

(adds quotes, detail, byline)

By Tom Pilcher

LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Paul Hart became the first Premier League managerial casualty of the season on Tuesday when he was sacked by bottom club Portsmouth.

"The board feels the team should have accrued more points to date and that we need a new man in charge to ensure Premier League survival," chief executive Peter Storrie told the club's website (www.portsmouthfc.co.uk).

Hart was offered the role of technical director, developing players from the ages of 18-21, but declined it.

The club said they would announce a replacement "very quickly and until that time the players will be led by first-team coaches Paul Groves and Ian Woan".

Last month former Portsmouth and Chelsea manager Avram Grant was appointed director of football, shortly after Saudi Arabian businessman Ali al Faraj's takeover of the club.

Hart steered the club away from the drop zone last season in a caretaker role before signing a two-year contract as permanent manager in July.

"The board would like to thank Paul for his work not only in keeping the club in the Premier League last season but also for his time in charge of youth development," added Storrie.

"Paul is a man of great dignity and we hoped he would stay and help us develop younger players on the fringes of the first team. We are genuinely sad to see him leave. Everyone at the club wishes him well for the future."

This season Portsmouth became the first English top-flight side in 79 years to lose their opening seven games of the campaign.

"Paul has worked under very difficult circumstances with the financial restrictions the club has faced since he took over," said Storrie.

Al Faraj bought 90 percent of the club's shares last month from Sulaiman al Fahim who had taken over in August but struggled to refinance Portsmouth's mounting debts.

(Editing by Tony Jimenez. To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

((tom.pilcher@thomsonreuters.com; + 44 207 542 7933 Reuters Messaging: tom.pilcher.reuters.com@reuters.net; For the Reuters sports blog Left Field go to: http://blogs.reuters.com/sport))

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