Life was frequently colourful during Harry Redknapp’s reign at Upton Park, but the Portsmouth manager turned the tables on his former employers on a subdued and unemotional return last night. Redknapp presided over some wonderfully talented players during his seven years in charge at West Ham United, once finishing fifth in the top flight, but managed no meaningful success.

Little more than two years into his second stint at Portsmouth, Redknapp can look forward to an FA Cup Final and the promise of European competition, and the possibility of catching Everton, four points ahead in fifth place in the Barclays Premier League.

Portsmouth appeared jaded and uninterested after triumph against West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday, but Niko Kranjcar’s clever curled strike in the second half gave them a deserved victory — their ninth away from home in the league this season. Only Chelsea have won more on their travels. It was also Portsmouth’s third consecutive victory at Upton Park, all under Redknapp.

“Three times, that gives me a bigger buzz,” Redknapp said. “We never got on the coach on Saturday night and started singing, ‘We are going to Wembley.’ Maybe I am a miserable git — that’s why. I fell asleep for five minutes into the journey. It has been an amazing turnaround for the club.”

Redknapp reverted to a lone striker and his team rarely ventured from their half in the opening period. David Nugent had their better opportunities, but twice shot wide, firstly after being set free by Pedro Mendes’s clever back-heel, and then after waltzing across the penalty area.

But it was Kranjcar who shone. The midfield player provided several moments of inspiration and exquisite invention that culminated in the only goal. The Croatia player curled a shot at Robert Green, the West Ham goalkeeper, blasted just over and then, after a succession of intricate passes around the penalty area, he collected the ball and sweetly swept it into the corner from 20 yards. It was a flash of quality in a dreadful match.

“He has time on the ball,” Redknapp said. “Slaven Bilic [the Croatia coach] made a fantastic recommendation for me to sign him.”

Bilic is among the former West Ham players held in high esteem at the club — some fans would like him to replace Curbishley as manager in the summer. Gianluca Nani, the West Ham technical director, will scratch his head at the dearth in quality when he comes to review the tape of this match. The club who became known as the Academy of Football have few players of distinctive class.

West Ham have been in and around tenth place since Kranjcar’s goal helped Croatia to defeat England in November, but now they are looking over their shoulders at Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United. Some booing accompanied the final whistle after another poor, characterless performance, with their forwards feeding off scraps. West Ham delivered hanging crosses from too deep, failed to find rhythm and penetrate an organised defence. Too often Bobby Zamora and Dean Ashton dropped deep to meet a pedestrian midfield. Zamora had their best chance: after a fortuitous ricochet, he went around David James but screwed the ball wide.

Curbishley had targeted the top six, but it appeared that their end-of-season holidays had started two months early. “The players’ bonuses and mine are based on finishing in the top ten,” Curbishley said. “We are in this together. We were flat and it was a massive disappointment. We have to react and do better. We are fizzling out.”

West Ham United (4-4-2): R Green — L Neill, J Spector, A Ferdinand, G McCartney — N Solano (sub: J Paintsil, 82min), S Parker, H Mullins (sub: C Cole, 73), L Boa Morte — R Zamora (sub: F Sears, 58), D Ashton. Substitutes not used: J Walker, J Tomkins.

Portsmouth (4-5-1): D James — G Johnson, S Campbell, S Distin, H Hreidarsson — A Mvuemba, P Bouba Diop, S Muntari, P Mendes (sub: R Hughes, 82), N Kranjcar — D Nugent (sub: Kanu, 73). Substitutes not used: A Begovic, Lauren, S Davis.

Referee: L Probert