The Israeli's side were held 1-1 by Coventry in their FA Cup third round clash at Fratton Park, with Kevin-Prince Boateng cancelling out David Bell's opener for the Sky Blues.

Following a disappointing display in front of just 11,214 fans, hundreds of Pompey followers laid siege to the directors' entrance in Frogmore Road for an hour after the final whistle.

With their club struggling to pay their players for the third time this season and facing a winding-up petition in the High Court, the disgruntled supporters demanded answers from absent owner Ali Al Faraj.

Chants of "Where's the owner of our club?" and "The owner is a coward" reverberated throughout the corridors of the ground.

Grant says it has become increasingly difficult to focus on matters on the field and admits it is hard to keep the team's financial problems off the players' minds.

He said: "It's not easy because players and managers like me are used to dealing with problems on the pitch.

"When there is a problem off the pitch, you cannot say to the players 'Oh, it's nothing.'

"They know there is a problem but still, when they come to the pitch they need to give their best."

Another major hurdle the Premier League's bottom club faces is being unable to recruit players this month after they received a transfer embargo in November.

This was due to the fact they still owe money to Arsenal and Chelsea for signing Lassana Diarra and Glen Johnson respectively.

Grant has lost four first team regulars for the next month, as Kanu, Hassan Yebda, Nadir Belhadj and Aruna Dindane have joined up with their national sides for the African Nations Cup.

Meanwhile, on-loan midfielder Jamie O'Hara has returned to Tottenham after his loan deal expired and there are severe doubts over whether he will be able to return.

Pompey went into the Coventry clash with just 18 first team players available for selection.

Following the draw, they now face an unwelcome Third Round replay at the Ricoh Arena in between vital Premier League games with Fulham on Saturday and Birmingham on January 16.

With so few players to call upon, Grant admits this extra fixture was the last thing the relegation strugglers needed.

He said: "We have a lack of players - the squad was only 18. It's not a good time to play this game in between matches against Fulham and Birmingham.

"But this is a fact and we will handle this. I think you will see good results.

"When you are in the business of sport, you must try to win every game - even if it is a friendly game.

"Of course the league is more important to us, but we will go to Coventry and try to win.

"However, before this, we have a game against Fulham next week, so we are going from game to game."

Meanwhile, Coventry boss Chris Coleman had no fears about using the likes of goalkeeper Keiren Westwood and striker Leon Best in the FA Cup, despite them being linked with moves this month.

He said: "I know there has been talk of some of our players moving on to Premier League clubs but I don't care where they end up.

"I don't want anybody to leave and I don't care if they get cup tied. They're paid by us and they're there to do a job.

"Whether or not they are going to move is another story.

"I hope none of them move. But as you've seen before, the bigger clubs will dictate that."