Portsmouth's players convinced they can escape relegation, says Aaron Mokoena

Portsmouth's threadbare squad remain convinced that the club can still avoid relegation this season though there is recognition that victory against tomorrow's visitors to Fratton Park, West Ham United, is essential to spark a revival. The FA Cup has provided a timely three-match unbeaten run to offer Portsmouth hope of generating momentum on the pitch while the club remains gripped in financial crisis and discontent wells up among supporters. Avram Grant's side are four points adrift at the foot, and without a league win in a month, but can move to within two points of safety by winning tomorrow night. "It's a massive game against West Ham, no arguments," said the midfielder Aaron Mokoena. "We've won two games in a row, in the FA Cup, which is a compliment to the boys' spirit, and now it's a question of taking that form into the Premier League. It is still tight down there at the bottom. We have been written off time and again this season, but if we beat West Ham, we will be only two points from safety. "That's how massive this game is for everyone at the club, and it's all about making sure we show up to claim those three points. I don't think my own belief has ever wavered. Maybe it's come close, but our strength is as a team. We are in this together and we're prepared to face the challenges ahead. This game could be a turning point for us in the Premier League." Portsmouth's players are due to receive their wages for January in the next week, with the club having failed to pay the squad on time on three separate occasions this season. Yet, while the board struggles to refinance the club and the manager continues to operate under a transfer embargo, the players have remained defiant. "It's important for us to give the supporters something to believe in," added Mokoena. "But the fans, the players and the management staff all want the same thing – we're in this together and we'll get out of it together. We know we've got a mountain to climb, but we still have good players at the club and, if we give our best, then our belief will hold us in good stead. We showed our character against Sunderland under difficult circumstances, and we need to take that same character into the West Ham game. "Last season, West Ham came down here on Boxing Day [in 17th place in the table] and won and they never looked back. That shows what can be achieved if you put a run of good results together and, hopefully, we'll start one of our own on Tuesday." Grant, already without four players at the Africa Cup of Nations, could be left with a depleted substitutes' bench tonight with Pape Bouba Diop having suffered hamstring damage at the weekend and Michael Brown forced from the field in the 2-1 FA Cup victory over Sunderland with a back problem. The Israeli could fill only five of the seven places on the bench in that tie but will scrutinise what options are available to him tomorrow. There remains the prospect of losing players before the transfer deadline, with Younes Kaboul and Nadir Belhadj, one of the club's African contingent, expected to move on in the next week, though their departures may depend on the Premier League lifting their embargo, allowing Pompey to re-enter the market. David James, David Nugent and Mike Williamson should also complete moves to Stoke, Burnley and Newcastle respectively.