Tony Adams was famous for leading Arsenal to narrow victories and must have heard the chant “One-nil to the Arsenal” more clearly than anyone else. “It comes back to haunt you,” the Portsmouth manager said after seeing his team play well but fail to score. “It was one-nil to the lucky Arsenal today.”

Adams acknowledged the peril that Portsmouth are in after their fourth successive defeat. “We’re in a scrap with 14 other clubs,” he said, adding that in such circumstances, he was not interested in trying to keep hold of players who are tempted to move in the January transfer window.

Jermain Defoe has been linked most strongly with a move away and was left on the bench. “Defoe was annoyed with me and is still angry with me now. He may have a point,” Adams said. “He could turn around to me and say we lost.”

Adams said the decision to drop Defoe was tactical and that he has received no offers for the diminutive striker. Harry Redknapp, Adams’s predecessor, has indicated that he would like to be reunited with Defoe at White Hart Lane. Adams has been concentrating on the psychological aspects of Portsmouth’s poor run. “There is a mental problem,” he said, explaining that his players get carried away and leave themselves open to counter-attacks. “They’ve got to concentrate on their jobs, don’t panic I’ve told them to concentrate on staying calm whatever happens.”

Adams refused to criticise Arsenal fans for occasional jeers at their team. “You have to earn their respect,” he said, adding that he used to worry he was playing badly when the fans did not cheer his name at Highbury.