'Disappointing night but we must become stronger for Arsenal test' - Martinez

Roberto Martinez was disappointed that his side could not show enough composure or cutting edge to find a way through Portsmouth defence in a frustrating evening at the DW Stadium.

The gaffer credited the visitors' organised approach, but felt that after working themselves into a number of promising positions in and around the area his side should have found a breakthrough;

"It's disappointing because before the game we saw this as a great opportunity as the home side," said Martinez.

"Portsmouth came here with a new-look team, were very well organised and got behind the ball.

"In doing that they limited us to very little and although we got into some very good positions we just couldn't take advantage. We had a good few half-chances but never really made their goalkeeper work enough.

"We tried playing further up the pitch, isolating the full-backs to give ourselves the advantage. I thought we got into some good positions, but lacked that composure or a final decision to make them count.

"I was pleased with the concentration and effort we put in off the ball. It's easy in anxious situations to lose concentration and make mistakes but we didn't allow that to happen. So we'll take the point and get ready for Sunday.

"The league is very tight and it will be like this until the end of the season. It's important now that we recover properly from this game in order to meet the demands of playing two games in a week.

"Although the disappointment is there we have to grow from this and become stronger for Sunday's game.

"We've got two home games left so it's important we learn from the anxiety we suffered at times tonight and get ready for those challenges."

Although things didn't go to plan up-front the performance of Latics' defence, and Steve Gohouri in particular, who provided a strong platform for going forward. The gaffer paid tribute to the Ivorian who was making his first start for Latics;

"He's been working extremely hard behind the scenes and from the first minute he showed great concentration, performing very well for us.

"Keeping clean-sheets in these games is vital, the slightest lapse in concentration can lead to a goal. In that respect we stayed focused and although we couldn't find the back of the net ourselves we'll pick ourselves up for the Arsenal game this weekend."