Russell Thomas

At Fratton Park

Manchester City's board briefly contemplated the club's tailspin on Saturday evening before a real-life mid-air crisis overtook them. The directors' plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Farnborough in Hampshire after an engine caught fire. "We all consider ourselves lucky to be alive," said City's chairman John Wardle.

The scare relegated their Premiership plight to the realms of the trivial. Nevertheless, from a football perspective, City are living dangerously and here they were buffeted and bruised in every sense. Amid the turbulence Kevin Keegan is losing the battle, according to an embittered Eyal Berkovic, claiming that his players know it.

Keegan suffered not only gratuitous brickbats from Berkovic, a City midfielder only two days previously, but also physical damage to David Seaman that could keep him out for at least four weeks.

Fourteen games without a win - dating back to November 1st - tells a story of increasing City fragility: 15th place, especially after a flying start, was most certainly not in Keegan's seasonal brochure.

After suffering Portsmouth's three-goal onslaught in the second half, Keegan emerged to hear that Berkovic had called him "a big baby" over the manager's "unprofessional" policy of scarcely playing him this season. "He's entitled to his opinion, he's bitter," Keegan replied, adding: "He should keep his own counsel." That was a sentiment endorsed by a "disappointed" Harry Redknapp.

Even if they are the words of an outspoken, point-to-prove player, Berkovic's other assertion - "He should get the sack because he's lost the support of the dressing room" - cannot be so easily dismissed.

This will only swell long-standing talk that some players lack belief in Keegan's methods and that a rift exists between some English and foreign players.

Keegan's job is now being virtually monitored on a match-to-match basis. He has consistently denied he will walk out on City but defeat in Wednesday's FA Cup replay at Leicester will not only be a serious financial setback but one that will surely focus boardroom minds. City's next seven Premiership opponents include Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United.

The manager maintains, for his part, that he has faith in his team. "I believe in the players and I like working with them," he said. "I'm not looking desperately for new players."

Portsmouth's four goals, two from set-pieces, highlight the problems at the back. Nevertheless, said Keegan, "I don't think it's a case of new defenders, as defenders doing things better."

Keegan, who has been given only £1.5 million to spend in this month's transfer window, has little scope for manoeuvre. "Our first priority is one, even two, goalkeepers," he said, his search accelerated by the shoulder and collarbone injuries that could keep Seaman out for up to eight weeks.

Redknapp is losing Ayegbeni Yakubu to the African Nations' Cup at the peak of the striker's form. The young Nigerian delivered two rasping shots and took weight off Teddy Sheringham, who responded with a header for his first goal in three months.

So the eye-catching volleys from Nicolas Anelka and Antoine Sibierski, let alone three City efforts against the crossbar, counted for nothing.

"We accept that we're in a relegation struggle. We've been in it for four weeks," said Keegan. "There were a lot of contentious things and this result is hard to take - but I keep saying that."

Guardian Service