Distin optimistic despite Arsenal defeat
Pompey's Sylvain Distin has reflected on the positives after Pompey's sterling effort against Arsenal.
Never before could a fourth straight defeat have yielded so much hope.
A 1-0 loss at the Emirates could have prompted many fans to slide into even more doom and gloom during this tricky time under Tony Adams' tenure.
Look on the bright side, though – at least the Pompey defence managed to roll back the years. Well, a year to be precise.
The leaky rearguard has undoubtedly been the chief culprit in this season's slump from the remarkable highs of the previous campaign.
This time around they've already shipped in 47 goals in 27 league and cup games.
That's more than they conceded during the whole of last term in all competitions.
Putting that into context, that's four goals more having so far played 20 games fewer than the entire 2007-08 campaign, which ended so memorably with the lifting of the FA Cup.
To think last year saw a record-breaking 23 clean sheets chalked up on the way to conceding a mere 43 goals in 47 games.
There were signs, however, normality may have been restored to the Blues defence during an excellent Emirates Stadium showing.
Leading the way was Distin – his partnership with Campbell returning to its very, very best.
And the 31-year-old believes they have every reason to be optimistic – regardless of the result.
He said: 'Obviously we are a bit disappointed with the result, but there are positives to take out of the game.
'It was a better performance and also a big difference in the defensive side of the team and, for me, that is something to be appreciated.
'Against Arsenal you could see we were altogether, you could see the fact we were defending properly as a team.
'I always say, even when we are doing good, it's not the back four that helps you defend well, it's the team.
'When we are doing bad it's the exactly same.
'It's not the back four, it's the team – unless there is an individual mistake.
'Even then, I thought the goal we let in against Arsenal was more a collective mistake rather than any individual to be fair.
'In the end, the defeat was harsh – it was a better performance.
'Our second game in three days and we were disappointed we couldn't come back home with one point.
'We were unlucky, we hit the post and the ball came out, and we played well, even if we didn't get anything.
'Now we can build on those positives – carry on that way and transfer that positivity into three points the next time we play.
'Our defensive performance is not just about me, Sol Campbell or David James, it's about everybody. Without the rest of the team you can't play football.
'It's always a team performance, whether it's a good or bad result.'
Interestingly, after their 27th match last season – a 3-1 victory over
Derby – Pompey had leaked 25 goals.
They also had 13 clean sheets compared to the current six – the last coming in their Uefa Cup finale against Heerenveen four games ago.
And first-team coach John Metgod (left) agrees with Distin's sentiment over team work.
He added: 'I don't think you can just blame the defence for the goals we are conceding, everyone must take responsibility.
'We need to start working from the front, with all the players getting in position to help the side out defensively.
'It is up to everyone, not just those in the defence. Everyone has a part to play, even the strikers.
'It's something we are working on and hopefully it will come right.'
Never miss a Portsmouth FC story... Get them sent straight to your e-mail inbox.... click here to subscribe.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Portsmouth
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 15 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: East
