Portsmouth Football Club News

Sylvain Distin surveyed Pompey’s mauling at Manchester City and stressed: ‘There can be no excuses.’ An abject display saw the Blues crushed 6-0 at Eastlands – their heaviest defeat in just over five years of Premier League football. Goals from Jo and Richard Dunne saw the hosts lead 2-0 at the interval but it was in the second half that Pompey capitulated. Strikes from Robinho, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Ched Evans and Gelson Fernandes sealed a miserable day at the office for Pompey. And Distin believes that everyone who played needs to take a share of the blame. He said: “It was a collective thing. Our defending was poor and so was our positioning. “There were mistakes everywhere and that’s why we conceded six goals. “We didn’t perform at all. Everything is negative and there’s not one good thing we can take from that game. “I just can’t explain it. All I can say is that we were poor. “To lose 6-0 – ridiculous is the word. “At 2-0 down I thought we could come back because we had a few chances but then they got their third and it was just downhill from there. “We can’t use playing in Europe as an excuse because they’re also in the UEFA Cup. But even if they weren’t, we wouldn’t use it as an excuse. “We’ve had three good games in a row and then that. With or without Europe, it’s unacceptable.” It proved to be a miserable return to Manchester for Distin, who spent five years with the Citizens before joining Pompey. “Of course I always want to perform when I go back there,” said the 30-year-old defender. “But I don’t feel like I’ve got anything to prove. “You want to win every game - it doesn’t matter who you’re playing. You never go into a game thinking that it’s okay to lose” The Blues have little time to dwell on the result – Chelsea travel to Fratton Park for a Carling Cup third round clash on Wednesday evening. And Distin believes it is imperative that they put things right as soon as possible. He said: “It’s part of our jobs to do that. We have to make sure we correct things in our next game. “Now it’s up to the manager whether we forget the match or whether we analyse it and try to work out what went wrong.”

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