'Worst moment of my managerial career': Portsmouth boss reeling from Fratton Park embarrassment

The Blues slumped to a 5-0 hammering at the hands of Southampton on Sunday, with three of the goals arriving in an abject final four minutes.

Entering the Fratton Park clash rock bottom of the Women’s Championship, having lost all six of their previous matches this season, it was another day of despair, especially against their fierce rivals.

Sadler revealed the players were also reeling in the build-up after losing Hannah Coan due to personal reasons, with the central defender having returned home to be with her family.

And the blows continued with their 5-0 demolition at the hands of their fierce rivals in front of 2,390 fans.

Sadler told The News: ‘It was embarrassing, if I am being honest. Not Pompey at all.

‘We competed well in the first half, Eve made some good saves and I always thought there was a threat in behind. But the second half was unidentifiable, three goals in four minutes, no leaders on the pitch, no-one taking ownership in a game of this magnitude against your arch rivals at Fratton Park.

‘I said to the players - and I don't mind sharing it - it’s probably the worst day I’ve had as manager, it has also been the worst weekend.

‘There has been a lot of external stuff going on as well (Hannah Coan), but for me that was just nowhere near good enough from us.

‘Coming into the game we’ve obviously had to make some changes, we’ve changed the system, we are trying to find solutions to the problems we face and I felt we did in that first-half.

‘We didn’t allow them to play vertically through the half spaces with the runners they had and every time they played wide to put in a cross, we had a body there to stop them.

‘But the moment we brought some players off in the second half - Emma Jones and Sophie Barker- we lost leadership in that group and I have to take ownership of that. The players on the pitch need to problem solve together - and, ultimately, Southampton smelt blood and punished us.’

Pompey remain pointless at the foot of the table following six league matches, while nursing a minus 21 goal difference.

And Sadler knows he needs to swiftly pick up a squad of players which contains many who emphatically won the National League Southern Premier Division title last term.

He added: ‘It’s a lack of confidence from a group of players who have scored one goal all season - and it was an own goal. We are not taking chances we create and we’re shipping in a lot of goals.

‘It’s not like there’s one or the other, it’s an amalgamation of both and confidence is a fragile commodity. A lot of players, instead of rising, becoming six foot and taking ownership, have gone the other way.

‘That four-minute period happened at West Ham, it has happened again. We were 1-0 down at half-time against Birmingham and lost 4-0. We were 1-0 down on Sunday and lost 5-0.

‘For the second half we have to look whether it’s physical, whether it is cognitive, whether it’s the changes (substitutions) but, ultimately, I have to take accountability first and then we have to put our finger on the solution.’