On the previous occasion that Harry Redknapp left Portsmouth midway through the season, his new club, Southampton, were relegated after finishing bottom of the Premier League, as the visiting fans delighted in reminding him yesterday. Such a nightmare could yet repeat itself, although as they demonstrated by coming from behind to take a point and create enough chances to win the match, Tottenham Hotspur will not go down without a fight.

As in the 2004-05 season, when the bottom four clubs were separated by two points, this intriguing relegation battle is likely to go all the way. If anything, the struggle for survival may be even closer because those in danger appear to be clustering together for comfort. By digging in for a point, Tottenham leapt off the bottom to sixteenth, one of five clubs on 21 points.

Redknapp declared himself “very, very, very confident” that Tottenham will stay up, with the manager’s optimism partially vindicated by the changes he has made having begun to take effect. Jermain Defoe made a decent start in justifying his £15 million transfer fee by scoring a 70th-minute equaliser in his first home match since returning to White Hart Lane, before Darren Bent demonstrated why the club had to pay such a huge sum when he missed a great opportunity to win the match.

The England striker was unmarked as he ran on to David Bentley’s cross but headed wide of the near post with David James, the Portsmouth goalkeeper, helpless. It is little wonder that Redknapp is still pursuing Kenwyne Jones, the Sunderland forward. Craig Bellamy was also on his wish list, but the West Ham United striker is on his way to Manchester City. “My missus could have scored it,” Redknapp said. “Jamo had given up and was waiting for it to hit the back of the net. You’ll never get a better chance to win a football match.”

It was not the only opportunity the home side squandered as they extended their worrying league run to six matches without a win, although there were signs that Redknapp is capable of turning things round. Luka Modric’s appetite for the fight in central midfield is far greater than it was under Juande Ramos, Redknapp’s predecessor, and he demonstrated great awareness to pick out Defoe for the equaliser, while Bentley’s contribution from the bench suggested that Redknapp’s public kick up the backside has had the desired effect. Aaron Lennon is also enjoying his best run of form since he was in the England squad two years ago.

Portsmouth were hanging on at various points, aided by a combination of several outstanding saves from James and Tottenham’s poor finishing. Defoe shot wide of the near post in the ninth minute and across goal four minutes from time after running on to a long ball from Vedran Corluka. For Redknapp, this appeared to be the final indignity. He turned to Joe Jordan, his assistant, and screamed: “How many f***ing chances?” before composing himself for the final onslaught.

Such profligacy is not Tottenham’s only weakness and they remain vulnerable to counter-attacks, as Portsmouth demonstrated in an open game that they deserved to draw. Didier Zokora still fails to convince as a holding midfield player and Redknapp’s insistence on rotating his centre backs does them few favours, although, with Ledley King having suffered a hamstring injury yesterday, that problem should be resolved.

Tottenham looked more secure when Michael Dawson replaced King shortly before half-time, but they still fell behind in the 59th minute to that rarest of events - a goal from David Nugent. Redknapp decided that the forward was not good enough for the Barclays Premier League shortly after convincing Portsmouth to pay £6 million for him 18 months ago, so he will have been as surprised as anyone to see him score his first league goal for the club. Armand Traoré found Nugent on the edge of the area and his shot was helped past Heurelho Gomes by a deflection off Gareth Bale.

In 21 league appearances, Bale has yet to finish on the winning side. Spurs will surely put him out of his misery at some point this season, but it may be a while before both clubs are sitting comfortably in mid-table.

Tottenham (4-4-2): H Gomes 5 - V Corluka 6, J Woodgate 6, L King 4, G Bale 5 - A Lennon 7, D Zokora 6, L Modric 7, J O’Hara 6 - R Pavlyuchenko 4, J Defoe 6. Substitutes: D Bent 5 (for Pavlyuchenko, 29min), M Dawson 5 (for King, 44), D Bentley 6 (for Bale, 69). Not used: B Alnwick, T Huddlestone, F Campbell, A Taarabt. Next: Stoke (h).

Portsmouth (4-5-1): D James 7 - G Johnson 5, S Campbell 7, S Distin 7, N Belhadj 6 - D Nugent 6, Y Kaboul 6, S Davis 5, N Kranjcar 5, A Traoré 6 - P Crouch 5. Substitutes: J Utaka (for Nugent, 73), M Wilson (for Kaboul, 89), H Hreidarsson (for Kranjcar, 90). Not used: A Begovic, N Pamarot, G Little, Kanu. Next: Aston Villa (h).

Referee: S Bennett Attendance: 36,011