Grant admits to an emotional evening

(GSM) – Portsmouth manager Avram Grant has admitted that his emotions got the better of him at the end of their 4-1 FA Cup success at Southampton.

The Pompey boss marched onto the field at St Mary’s to salute the Fratton Park club’s travelling fans as another difficult week ended on a high.

The troubled Premier League club survived a midweek winding-up order as their finances remain in a dire state.

The South coast club is still on the brink with their very existence in doubt.

However, they have an FA Cup quarter-final tie to look forward to after claiming bragging rights on the South Coast by overcoming their brave League One opponents in a pulsating encounter.

Substitute Quincy Owusu-Abeyie swung the match in Pompey’s favour after his 58th minute introduction, scoring one and setting up Aruna Dindane and Jamie O’Hara, while Nadir Belhadj was also on target.

Rickie Lambert had brought Saints level, but Alan Pardew’s side were made to pay on the break as they pressed for a leveller and the final scoreline was harsh on the hosts.

“I’m very emotional and this is an emotional game,” Grant said. “If you win, you make 250,000 other people happy, this is what football is about.

“If I wrote a book about Portsmouth it would be a best-seller,” he added.

“I see the passion of everyone at the club – the fans, the players and the staff. There is a passion to succeed. I was very happy to see the decision from the High Court. There are many people around and it’s not their fault.

“I had two choices. To give up or to show to the players that we will make our spirit even higher. I said that to the players and to my children when there are difficult times you need to show your character.

“I will fight until the last moment. As long as we have a chance on the pitch. What happens in court is out of my hands. If they need to punish someone then it is a person that does something wrong. I don’t know who that is but it is not us.”

Grant was delighted with the impact of former Arsenal and Birmingham forward Owusu-Abeyie, who only moved to Fratton Park in January on loan from Spartak Moscow.

“The only thing we could do is bring loan players in who were not under contract,” the Israeli added. “Quincy was one of them.

“I knew him from Arsenal and know that he has a lot of quality. I like to develop players and get the best from them and he will be very good if we get potential from him.”