Paul Cook is relaxed about his budget for next season - even though it is reportedly below the average for League One.

The PST has revealed the figure - £3m - in its work ahead of a shareholders' vote on Michael Eisner's bid, and it appears it is £300,000 below the norm for the league Pompey are moving up to for 2017-18.

But in an interview with The News, Cook seemed singularly unfazed by the amount, suggesting there is more to a club's chances of success than the amount they are paying out.

Cook told the paper: 'Talking about budgets is not really for me to talk about. It’s not for me to engage in. That’s the truth. That’s for everyone else to talk about.

‘Nowadays, if you want to go up in leagues it costs money. I think everyone knows that. But it’s not for me to get involved in debates about it.

‘That’s what they reckon (it will be a lower-mid-table budget). It doesn’t mean we can’t go up. That’s the truth.

‘If we go out and spend money we’ll see but it’s really not for me to get involved in talk about that. What’s clear is we are going to have to work.'

Cook also revealed he did not expect fans to be shcoekd by any decisions regarding the future of out of contract players. There are 16 players whose deals are up and Cook said he'd keep all of them given the chance.

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