Grant basks in public acclaim and hints at intention to stay

Portsmouth 3 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1

Portsmouth have clearly got under Avram Grant's skin. The Israeli, so often derided for a demeanour matching his dark suits and shirts, has proved to be one of the few steadying and positive influences in a season of turmoil. And just as the players and fans have taken to him, the feeling, it seems, is mutual, as he gave his clearest indication yet that he would like to lead the side in the Championship.

Grant is understandably reluctant to say outright whether he wants to stay at Fratton Park, with no one having come forward with deep enough pockets to take over. But Grant said if someone can be found who promises stability and financial sense, he could reveal his hand as soon as the FA Cup final in two weeks' time.

Grant said: "I have been approached by other clubs and I could have signed, but I am waiting to see what is happening here. At the moment, we are in the FA Cup final, so the football side is very good. But the future of the club is unclear. There are so many ifs. I like this club very much, but it does not all depend on me. I think in two weeks we will know either way.

"The situation for me is very clear – if we know from the beginning what we have and what we can do, there is guarantee of stability, that is good."

At least goals from Aruna Dindane, John Utaka and Michael Brown gave fans a happy ending to a rotten home season.

Kevin Doyle's equaliser briefly threatened to deflate Portsmouth's pre-Cup final party atmosphere, but Sylvan Ebanks-Blake's two glaring misses highlighted what the Wolves manager, Mick McCarthy, needs to avoid another relegation battle. "We will invest," McCarthy said. "[My aim is] to get players, maybe four or five, who can make us better but with a similar disposition, attitude, work rate and character to what we have already."

Portsmouth (4-4-2) James; Vanden Borre, Mokoena (Ward, h-t), Finnan, Sowah; Dindane (Smith, h-t), Brown, Hughes (Diop, 69), Boateng; Piquionne, Utaka. Substitutes not used Ashdown (gk), Mullins, Diop, Kanu, Ritchie

Wolverhampton Wanderers (4-5-1) Hahnemann; Zubar, Craddock, Berra, Elokobi; Jones, Foley, Henry, Mancienne (Ebanks-Blake, 60), Mujangi Bia (Iwelumo, h-t); Doyle. Substitutes not used Ikeme (gk), Edwards, Stearman, Ebanks-Blake, Milijas.

Referee M Jones (Cheshire).

Booked: Wolverhampton Berra.

Man of the match Brown.

Attendance 19, 213.