Baggies captain Greening: We gave Pompey a run for their money

Tony Mowbray's side suffered their second defeat in 11 months at the venue as they followed last season's defeat by Derby County with a similar single-goal defeat against the south coast club.

But Greening maintained he was happy with the effort and said he cannot countenance losing a third time if the Baggies do not gain automatic promotion.

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They return to league action on Tuesday night with a trip to Blackpool and Greening couldn't help but reflect on what might have been.

He said: "I'm proud of the way we played. We passed and moved and they couldn't get near us at times in the first-half.

"We have put a good performance on, but it wasn't to be. It's our second appearance here and our second loss. It's not great, is it? Actually it's gut-wrenching to lose to a goal like we did.

"You don't mind losing to a 25-yard worldie but to lose to a sloppy goal like that is a sickener. The guy got a tap-in because of a mix-up between Zoltan and Dean."

"But every player they have in their team is an international and it shows in some of the touches that they take. Nearly everything that Nico Kranjcar and Lassana Diarra did was quality.

"Now it's Blackpool. That's a massive game for us. Hopefully we will get a few points and a few goals to push us up the league.

"We seem to be playing every three days at the moment. But we can't use that as an excuse. We've all had our massages and ate the right stuff as they say, so we have just got to get on with it now and make sure all this hard work counts for something at the end of the season."

However, he did pay tribute to Harry Redknapp.

He added: "Harry has done a great job there. I wanted him to get the England job before Fabio Capello got it. Portsmouth are a good side. Top six - probably in Europe.

"I like the way he is. It looks like he is a players' manager. Someone you would like to work for. I think the England players need that, someone who is a character. He is respected. Sometimes it's not about the XI on the pitch and the tactics. Sometimes its about having respect for the manager and wanting to go out and play for someone like that.

"I think Harry has that in abundance. Now we are out of it, I would hope they go on and win it. It would look good on his CV."