Portsmouth captain Dejan Stefanovic is hoping Alexandre Gaydamak can do for Pompey what Roman Abramovich has done for Chelsea.

Gaydamak, the son of a Russian billionaire, is poised to become joint owner of the south-coast club alongside chairman Milan Mandaric, who will receive £15million for a 50 per cent stake.

Although estimates have varied greatly in relation to the size of any potential investment, it appears certain manager Harry Redknapp is to be given a sizeable kitty to spend in the current transfer window.

Redknapp is desperate to strengthen a squad that is sorely lacking in quality and currently languishing in the bottom three of the Barclays Premiership.

That was again evident at Ewood Park last night as Portsmouth lost 2-1 to Blackburn, their fifth successive away loss in the league.

Stefanovic believes at least a couple of new faces would make all the difference to Pompey's survival chances, and then in the summer they could build as Chelsea have done under Abramovich.

"If we are to survive in the Premiership we need to strengthen the squad," Stefanovic said today. "That's obviously a job for Harry to sort out, and hopefully he can bring a couple of quality players to the club.

"If he has money to spend then he will be able to do that, and that will hopefully help us push up the table and survive this season.

"If something can be done then that will only benefit the club.

"We have seen what has happened at Chelsea with Abramovich who has spent lots of money on players.

"Look at where they are at the moment. They are champions, they are top of the league again, and I hope we can do the same.

"With some good signings in this transfer window, we can stay up and then begin from there.

"But whoever comes here is welcome, although at the end of the day our job is to play football and to give our best."

Remarkably, Stefanovic remains the club's record buy at £1.8million, and that was back in July 2003.

That underlines just how well Portsmouth has done over the years to survive on a shoestring budget, but that could be about to change.

Redknapp has been linked with Auxerre forward Mwaruwari Benjani - among others on a long, speculative list - but at around £4 million, it would appear heady days are on the horizon.

"It's not about spending money just to break records," insisted Stefanovic, who maintains Mandaric has said nothing so far to the players about Gaydamak.  "For me it's more important to bring quality players into the team because that is what we need to keep us in the Premiership."

Regardless of what transpires this month in terms of new signings and, despite the lack of quality, Stefanovic is adamant those players currently at Fratton Park are not losing heart.

"With a couple of wins we can move up the table because there are plenty of other teams still down there fighting," added Stefanovic.  "We know that whatever happens, right to the end of the season it's going to be very difficult, and every match is going to be tough.