Hermann: We must still believe
Hermann Hreidarsson dismissed the growing fears Pompey are destined for relegation and fired: We have the quality to survive.
The Iceland defender returned from a foot injury to make his first appearance of the season for the Blues in yesterday's demoralising 1-0 defeat at Stoke City.
After Prince Boateng saw an early penalty saved by Thomas Sorensen, Pompey had the upper hand – until Stoke's late winner for ex-Blues striker Ricardo Fuller.
Despite a 10th Premier League defeat of the season that sees Pompey remain bottom, Hreidarsson – who has been relegated from the top flight with Crystal Palace, Ipswich, Wimbledon and Charlton – believes this Pompey squad has more chance of survival than his previous clubs.
Hreidarsson said: 'Stoke have got 19 points but we were the better side. Everyone can see for themselves there is enough quality here.
'But it's goals that count. The game is about scoring goals and picking up points and we cannot keep saying this for too long.
'We've definitely got more quality than we did when I played in sides that were relegated – 100-per-cent.
'It's a massively tough league. It doesn't matter what players you've got on paper, we've seen some big clubs go down with massive players.
'It's about what you do out on the pitch. You can say things all day, but you have to prove it.
'But I believe we have enough quality and I believe we will get out of this.'
Sadly for Pompey, it was a familiar tale of a decent team performance that failed to yield any points, with only a second-half Jamie O'Hara long-range effort genuinely testing Sorensen.
But Hreidarsson felt the performance merited a better return – especially in the first period when Pompey were by far the better side.
He said: 'The results are massively disappointing, but I don't think you can fault the performance.
'In the first half, there was only one team in the game. Don't get me wrong, they are a difficult side to play against, but I felt that we were the side to be worried about out there.
'It's a bit like West Brom last season. We are playing good football but not picking up the points.
'And I thought we defended alright – I think they had only one shot on target.'
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Weather for Portsmouth
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 15 C to 23 C
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