Portsmouth Football Club News

Tony Adams has turned his attention to Giles Grimandi in his search for an assistant.

Filed under: Portsmouth News | No Comments »

Blues striker Kanu delights in team-mate Jermain Defoe's temperament to score injury-time penalty that clinched 2-1 win for Pompey at Sunderland

Filed under: Portsmouth News | No Comments »

After fantastic performances against Fulham, Liverpool and Wigan garnered just a solitary point, Tony Adams needed a change of fortune. Well, he got it at Sunderland. Pompey produced a below-par display at the Stadium of Light and Djibril Cisse’s early goal meant they deservedly trailed at the break. But Nadir Belhadj’s superb equaliser and Jermain Defoe’s stoppage-time penalty gave Adams his first victory as Blues boss. The former England skipper confessed he did not particularly care how his side got their three points on Wearside. “Of the four games that I’ve been in charge, that’s probably been our worst performance,” admitted Adams. “So I think I’ll have to start again with this game because I haven’t got a clue about it! “We didn’t pass the ball well enough and we kept turning it over. I think Jermain and Peter needed to come back defensively a bit more. I also think that we needed to look after Cisse a little bit better – he was very lively. “We’ve been our own worst enemy of late and we needed to be switched on a bit more. “But we’re in the results industry – I understand that. “I love winning and I’ll take it no matter what. It doesn’t matter if we’ve played well or played badly. “I can’t control luck. I just have to get on with what I do. I have to organise the team and prepare them for the matches. “I’m not sure if the luck evens itself out over the course of the season but I think that players make their own luck - and I believe in my players.” Adams was particularly pleased for Belhadj, who scored his first Pompey goal against Sunderland. He said: “Nadir’s a livewire and he wants to run here, there and everywhere. “I did a session with him in training where I put him in a 10x10 box and he had to stay there. He sometimes needs to do a bit more for the team. “But he’s great offensively - I’m delighted for him. “He lifted the whole squad when he came to Pompey. He’s got a great attitude and he deserves everything that he gets.”

Filed under: Portsmouth News | No Comments »

Tony Adams hailed his players' determination to finally record his first win as Portsmouth manager.

Filed under: Portsmouth News | No Comments »

Jermain Defoe revealed how his friend Anton Ferdinand tried to make him miss his match-winning penalty at the Stadium of Light. The striker was handed the opportunity to win the match for Pompey at Sunderland when El-Hadji Diouf fouled Glen Johnson in injury-time. But first he had to block out some words from Sunderland defender and former West Ham team-mate Ferdinand. “Anton came up to me and said I was going to miss,” said Defoe. “He gave me a little bit of banter. “But I didn’t listen. You’ve got to be confident when you take a penalty - if you think you might miss, you probably will. “As I stepped up to take the penalty I thought about the last one I had, against Spurs, which I scored. So I was confident.” Defoe did not disappoint, tucking his seventh goal of the season past Sunderland keeper Marton Fulop. It completed a fine comeback by Pompey, who had fallen behind to Djibril Cisse’s fourth-minute opener before Nadir Belhadj, with his first goal for the club, equalised after the break. The victory was the first for the Blues under new boss Tony Adams – the significance of which was not lost on Defoe. He said: “Sunderland were maybe the better team in the first half. They’re a strong side with a strong manager in Roy Keane. “But in the second half we dominated and deserved the three points. We stuck together. “We had a great week in training, working on the shape and movement of the team. The things Tony Adams has done in training have been really good. “There have been massive changes at the club and I’m really pleased for Tony that we won.”

Filed under: Portsmouth News | No Comments »