Portsmouth 2
Tottenham 0

Despite overseeing Tottenham's worst start to a season for 53 years, Juande Ramos had been given a fairly easy ride by the supporters until yesterday.

After the confused display at Fratton Park that left Spurs rooted to the bottom of the Premier League, things started to change.

Against a side who had conceded 10 goals in their previous two matches, Ramos had the perfect opportunity to get his team's season off and running after their Carling Cup win at Newcastle in midweek – but the Spaniard blew it.

Given Portsmouth's evident defensive fragility, why did Ramos decide to begin the game with Roman Pavlyuchenko as his only striker, and leave two of his quickest players, Darren Bent and Aaron Lennon, out of the starting XI?

Sending out a team with the aim of avoiding defeat is understandable against Manchester United, Arsenal or Chelsea, but not against a side destroyed 6-0 by Manchester City and 4-0 by the Blues in their last two matches.

With 17 minutes remaining and his team 2-0 down, Ramos finally brought on Bent, but took off Pavlyuchenko, leaving some exasperated Spurs fans to chant: "You don't know what you're doing."

Ramos must take their stick for his negative tactics, just as he must accept much of the blame that his team prop up the table with only two points from six games.

Gareth Bale, who played on the left of a five-man midfield at Newcastle, missed the game with a foot injury. But instead of selecting Lennon or Giovani to replace him, Ramos bizarrely opted for Gilberto, a 32-year-old Brazilian who has started just five matches since joining the club in January.

But it was not just the absence of Bent from the XI that left Spurs fans shaking their heads. Luka Modric and Giovani were brought to White Hart Lane for a combined £21.2million in the summer, but the Croatian never made it on to the pitch yesterday and the Brazilian was given only 32 minutes as a substitute.

Ramos continues to stress that Modric, Giovani and Pavlyuchenko need time to adapt to the English game and, with sporting director Damien Comolli in charge of transfers, it is questionable how much influence Ramos had on their arrival.

But the trio are undoubtedly talented, and it is up to Ramos, on a salary of about £4m-a-year, to get the best out of them.

The truth is that every club in the Premier League outside the top four would love to have players of this quality in their squad, especially Modric and Pavlyuchenko.

It is vital for Ramos' future and that of his team that he can unlock Pavlyuchenko's best form, as the Russian striker again looked out of place.

Ramos eventually put him out of his misery and Bent looked livelier, although his finishing did not match his work rate, with one shot flying well over the bar, and a header landing nearer to the corner flag than in did to David James' left post.

Ramos and his players will also point to the fact that they were denied a penalty when Lennon, unsurprisingly brought on for the ineffective Gilberto for the second half, saw his cross handled by Lassana Diarra, who was later sent off for a two-footed challenge on Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

It was the second time in as many League games that Lennon has been denied a blatant spot-kick, but his misfortune should not be allowed to mask Spurs' many weaknesses.

Had it not been for goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, the only one of Spurs' summer signings who has settled relatively quickly — his error against Aston Villa apart — the margin of Pompey's victory would have been greater.

As it was, a first-half penalty from former Spurs striker Jermain Defoe after Jermaine Jenas had handled Glen Little's free-kick, and Peter Crouch's 68th-minute header were enough to seal Tottenham's fourth League loss of the season.

They have three days before the second leg of their UEFA Cup tie with Wisla Krakow, and Ramos knows that elimination would provide the ultimate test of the board's patience. Worryingly for the Spaniard, this quality is often in short supply at White Hart Lane.

At least publicly, Ramos insists he has the confidence of chairman Daniel Levy and the directors.

He said: "We speak regularly, and everyone is aware of the delicate situation we are in. We are all working hard to resolve it."

Ramos cannot afford his next team selection and tactics to be wide of the mark.