James was expected to complete a loan move to the Britannia Stadium for the rest of the campaign on Friday, but talks reportedly broke down after the clubs failed to agree on what percentage of his wages Pompey should pay. James is believed to be one of the highest-earning players at Fratton Park and cash-strapped Pompey's owners were keen to get him off their wage bill. But Grant says he was not asked about the possibility of letting the former Liverpool man join the Potters and has been surprised by talk of the 39-year-old's departure. "I must tell you honestly that I don't know what happened," said Grant. "From my point of view, he was training with the team and nothing happened. "He trained today and he trained the day before. There wasn't any problem and I don't know what was happening. "He belongs to the team and I want him to stay in the team. "I've heard many clubs want our players but we want to keep our players. "We had 16 players in the squad on Tuesday and tomorrow, if everyone is fit, it will be 18. "So we cannot give players to the other teams and we don't want to." Grant confirmed James will be in his squad for the Premier League clash with Birmingham at Fratton Park on Saturday. But he refused to be drawn as to whether he would replace second choice stopper Asmir Begovic between the sticks. The Israeli said: "My target in any team I manage is that I will have difficulties to chose. "Jamo is a very good player but Asmir did very well for us. He is a young player and has a great future ahead of him. He showed that we can count on him and he was great." One man Grant definitely will not have available against the Blues is influential midfielder Jamie O'Hara. The Tottenham has returned to White Hart Lane after his loan deal expired this Friday, with Portsmouth's transfer embargo prevented them from extending it. Grant admits he would love to bring him back to Fratton Park, but he is determined to concentrate on getting three points this Saturday before worrying about the ban on registering players. He said: "Unfortunately, I don't have any more news from when we spoke one or two weeks ago. "I don't want to think about this because we have a game on Saturday. After the game I will think about this. Anyway, it is a fact I cannot change. "We have a game and I want to win that game - then we can speak about these things. "Jamie is a quality player and he did create things for us. He was very good and I hope he will stay in the team. I think it is still possible." Portsmouth and Birmingham were both tipped to prop up this year's table, but the Blues have exceeded pre-season expectations and are unbeaten in their last 14 games in all competitions. Grant admits stability on and off the pitch has been one of the reasons behind their success. He said: "Firstly, everything around the team is very stable. Secondly, they have made fewer mistakes (than us) and thirdly, they have more points. "They play well, they play as a team and they have kept their players fit. They have played many games with the same team, which is very important. "We have always had injuries and been missing players."
