"It is going to be a tough week. We play Portsmouth in the semi-final on the Sunday, then we have got Arsenal on the Wednesday, then Chelsea on the Saturday. It is not ideal but they are good games."

Harry Redknapp's look ahead to the week in mid-April that will shape Spurs' season proves once again that he is a master of understatement. The three games he lists are followed immediately by a visit to Old Trafford, and after that match on the 24th, the race for Champions League football next season might have a clear leader. As it stands, Aston Villa seem to be putting themselves out of the running, Everton are the dark horse, while Liverpool seem to have the easiest run-in of all the contenders. Any hopes that Man City would falter against Wigan were comprehensively dismissed by Carlos Tevez, leaving City as the team most likely to displace Spurs from fourth spot.

It was vital then that victory was achieved against Portsmouth and it was duly accomplished without the team having to exert themselves too much. With Portsmouth crippled by a points deduction and a raft of injuries - which only got worse as the game wore on at White Hart Lane - the Pompey old boys both on the field and on the bench did enough to win but without putting Portsmouth to the sword. Whether or not that was entirely by design is arguable, especially since Gomes was tested rather more than might have been expected against the team that props up the Premier League. Yet Kranjcar's low-key celebration after his goal and the Redknapp/Grant love fest in the press would seem to suggest that Spurs were not so keen to inflict further humiliation on a side that had conceded five against Chelsea in midweek.

Although the game had the air of a training exercise in its latter stages, there were a number of positives to take from it. Gareth Bale excelled once again, with the manager now talking about him as possibly becoming the first Welshman to win 100 international caps. Quite a turnaround for a player whose early days at Spurs were blighted by a combination of injury and a lack of form. Although reverting to full back for the Portsmouth game, Bale still managed to provide a substantial attacking threat and created the opener for Crouch with a wonderful cross. Kyle Walker made a more than competent debut on the other side of the field and was instrumental in setting up the second goal, which more or less killed the game off.

Portsmouth had so many players missing that they could name only six substitutes at the Lane. The additional injuries picked up during the game will weaken them further before the FA Cup semi-final, as will the absence of Jamie O'Hara, perhaps their most important player this season. Complacency is always a dangerous thing, but it would be pessimistic indeed to predict anything other than a tenth FA Cup final appearance for Spurs. A place in the Champions League, however, remains a much more elusive prospect.