Gianfranco Zola is well aware that the Barclays Premier League is a keenly-contested championship this season - a fact underlined by there being only seven points between eighth and last place.
With surprise results every weekend and the promoted clubs all showing a willingness to compete, the manager agreed with a post-Portsmouth question that he expects those teams that push on behind the leading contenders to be those willing to have a go. "It is going to be a close championship especially if you leave out five or six teams - for the others it is going to be very close," he said.
Of his approach in the 0-0 draw, he said: "I told the players at half-time to go for it. We wanted to win. When you want to win sometimes you tend to go forward and you concede something to the opposition, especially when you have a striker like [Jermain] Defoe. He is very good at making runs behind you and all the time playing within the lines of the defenders. It is something that we knew. We took a risk."
Zola also knew that in Robert Green he had a goalkeeper who has been showing the form in training and matches that won him the Hammer of the Year award last year. "You have to be very careful. You want to win like we wanted to do [against Portsmouth] but also we have to be aware we don't want to lose games like this … Robert was outstanding. He was brilliant. He was aware and he has made a couple of fantastic saves."
The confidence in his keeper and his back four was always apparent despite a run of 24 league games without a clean sheet. Zola was particularly pleased that they were able to stand firm and cope with a lively Portsmouth attack. "I understand that especially for Robert and the defenders it has been a frustrating time. Even if you win, it can be frustrating if you don't keep a clean sheet. This is a big boost and they will get a lot of confidence from this."
It is thought Herita Ilunga will be fit to take his place in the back four at Sunderland next Sunday despite his substitution with a knock to his right ankle, while Zola also has James Tomkins, Calum Davenport and Jonathan Spector back in training. Indeed, only Danny Gabbidon and Dean Ashton are on the long-term injury list while Mark Noble could be in contention within a fortnight and Kieron Dyer will hope to get another week of full training under his belt.