Gillingham boss launches into explosive rant at Danny Cowley and Portsmouth after late Priestfield scenes

And Evans is adamant his Gillingham side deserved victory after going down to a 1-0 stoppage-time loss - and believes that would be acknowledged by the Blues faithful.

There’s no love lost between the two bosses, and that intensified after lively scenes as Cowley’s side won it late through Michael Jacobs’ deflected stoppage-time finish.

The Pompey head coach was booked for his celebrations, after 90 minutes of histrionics from Evans and his assistant Paul Raynor on the touchline.

The two benches refused to shake hands after the game, with Raynor retorting with expletives when assistant Nicky Cowley approached him following the whistle.

Evans told Kent Online ‘The celebrations on the bench resembled World Cup stuff, a bit disrespectful really, it doesn’t matter when you win, you should never be disrespectful, but we will take the pain and we will go again.

‘I said pre-match that Portsmouth had got their Christmas with the lack of options we have had and they have got their Christmas early getting three points. It doesn’t matter what they do in the rest of December, they have had their Christmas.

‘It is a hard one to take because of the manner of it, if they come and outplay us, a lot of people were talking and no more than Cowley himself that they felt if they got an early goal what they could do with us. Yeah, man on the moon.

‘They deserved to get beat. We will listen to the nonsense from him and the superstars, their nonsense, but if they are honest, which they never are, they will say they deserved to get beat.

‘Second half I felt they had run out of ideas. For all of the big players and moans about who they didn’t have, they had one player missing, Sean Raggett and he is no world star is he? He is a big honest competitor in League One and a local boy to Gillingham but they have made it out as if it is a defensive crisis.

‘Shaun Williams is a player I tried to bring in when Portsmouth offered treble his money, back when he came out of Millwall.

‘He is a comfortable centre-back in the Championship.

‘Connor played many times for me at centre-back. I moved him there for a long period of time. Poor Danny, with that big, big budget and big support, and fantastic facilities, but good luck to him.’

Pompey’s 1,475 travelling fans partied in the freezing Kent conditions in the uncovered away end after the whistle, but Evans feels they will feel fortunate not to have lost the game.

He added: ‘It’s a fantastic football club and fantastic supporters. Good luck to them, they will enjoy their win, they will be singing and dancing but they aren’t silly either.

‘I give nothing but total praise and credit to my players and you have to give credit to the Portsmouth players because they never stopped, they kept going and got the goal and that is what you do when you try and grind results out.

‘The one thing about the Portsmouth fans is that they are not delusional. They will know they should have lost the game but I have been there and you take that three points.’

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