Young goalkeeper Joe Hart reckons the six-goal Premier League hammering Manchester City suffered at Chelsea last month was "just a fluke".

Hart, tipped as a future England number one, suffered at Stamford Bridge but was a star performer in the goalless draw at Portsmouth on Sunday.

He said: "We showed as a team at Pompey that what happened at Chelsea was a one off and a fluke. We have produced three clean-sheets in succession now and have shown we have the spirit to bounce back.

"What happened at Chelsea really hurt us, but we've shown the rest of the league what we can do. I don't think I could be blamed for what happened at Chelsea, but I suppose it would have been easy for the boss to drop me. That he didn't just added to my confidence."