Since the year 2000, 19 different men have taken charge of Portsmouth, be it on permanent terms or a temporary basis.

Most of those have lasted just a matter of weeks or months at the Fratton Park helm, one of which was Alain Perrin, who inherited the hotseat 10 years ago today.

The Frenchman, who had just had a spell in the United Arab Emirates with Al-Ain, replaced caretaker Velimir Zajec. The Croatian had been in the role since the previous November when Harry Redknapp departed for bitter rivals Southampton.

The task for Perrin was simple: Keep Pompey in the Premier League. With seven matches left to play, the South Coast outfit were 16th in the table and just three points above the drop zone.

"I'm very happy to join the Premiership because it is the best championship in Europe," he told reporters at his unveiling press conference.

"I don't want to change anything, I trust them to get results and I want to give my experience and enthusiasm."

Meanwhile, chairman Milan Mandaric added: "I'm confident we will stay up. I said I was going to bring a new manager in at the end of the season. I clearly found the man that I wanted. It is the perfect time for him to come here.

"He is a man of integrity, solid personality, a football man and a good coach. It is something I've always wanted, my manager to coach and mould the players into a team. I looked at other people I could bring and he was the number one.

"You can always look back and every general is smarter after the war is finished. Maybe we should have made the appointment earlier, but I think the timing is good enough."

Perrin got off to the perfect start courtesy of a 4-2 home win over Charlton Athletic, before later that month Southampton were thrashed 4-1 at Fratton Park.

It was a result that not only all but secured Pompey's top-flight status, it also went a long way to relegating the Saints.

However, despite that positivity, Perrin was sacked in November 2005, with his side once again embroiled in a relegation battle.