World NewsGrant Upbeat Despite Hammering |
Portsmouth manager Avram Grant believes the 4-1 defeat his side suffered at the hands of Manchester United on Saturday did not do justice to his players' performance.
Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick, including two penalties, and Ryan Giggs netted his 100th Premier League goal for the visitors at Fratton Park.The result kept Pompey at the bottom of the Barclays Premier League standings, but Grant - who was taking charge of the team for the first time - insists the scoreline flattered the Red Devils.
"It was a strange game," he said.
"If I came from the moon and heard the result I would have thought Manchester United played great and Portsmouth was not so good but we played very well.
"I thought we played better. We created a lot of chances and conceded soft goals."
Mark Hughes reckons it is only a matter of before his Manchester City side get back to winning ways after they could only take a point at home to Hull.
A Jimmy Bullard penalty cancelled out Shaun Wright-Phillips' strike at Eastlands to mark City's seventh consecutive draw in the Premier League.
It is not the run expected of a side which splashed out £120million in the summer transfer market, but Hughes remains calm about the situation.
"There is pressure to get results, any manager will tell you that. But we are still in the mix at the top end of the league," he said.
"What we have to do is keep picking up points. We are doing that and it is only a matter of time before we start winning again."
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp believes it is "not impossible" for Spurs to break into the top four this season after seeing his side earn a deserved 1-1 draw at Aston Villa.
Both teams are battling for the right to finish among the Champions League places, and Redknapp sees no reason why they cannot fulfil that aim.
"Who knows what is going to happen with regards to the top four?" he pondered.
"Villa are going to be up there. The top two will probably be Chelsea and Manchester United, then will come Arsenal and Liverpool and then Manchester City, Villa and ourselves.
"One of us might break into the top four and it is not impossible for us to do it. It will be hard but we have got some very good players at this club."
Burnley boss Owen Coyle admitted his players had no-one to blame but themselves for their poor performance at West Ham.
The Clarets were on the wrong end of a 5-3 result and Coyle said: "We were the architects of our own downfall.
"We gifted some soft goals, and made individual errors at the wrong time. It was another learning curve for us."
In other games on Saturday, Hugo Rodallega's solitary goal was enough to see Wigan past Sunderland, Fulham played out a 1-1 draw with Bolton while the match between Blackburn and Stoke finished goalless.
Copyright (c) 2009 Press Association
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