A 1-0 defeat at home to Tottenham has left the fate of Steve Coppell's men out of their own hands.

Reading - who have now gone more than nine hours without a goal - must beat bottom club Derby at Pride Park to stand any chance of staying up while other results also have to go their way.

Pompey's form has dipped dramatically since they secured a place in the FA Cup final, as Harry Redknapp's men - once on course for a top-six finish - have lost the last three.

Nevertheless, Royals skipper Murty firmly believes Pompey will give it a real go at Fratton Park on Sunday, and has been buoyed by the response he has received from some of their players.

"The answers coming back have been positive, because they need to perform this Sunday to book a place in the FA Cup final team," Murty told BBC Radio Berkshire.

Reading - who finished eighth in 2007 - are another club to have suffered second-season syndrome having won promotion two years ago.

Murty insists the Royals will "scrap like hell" to remain in the top flight.

"You don't play Manchester United in the Championship. You don't play in front of 78,000 people, you go to Plymouth. Home Park's a lovely stadium, but it ain't Old Trafford," he observed.

"When you pressure people in the Championship, they kick it out for a throw-in. Rio Ferdinand drops a bit of skill on the centre-forward, turns round and pings a 70-yard diagonal to [Cristiano] Ronaldo.

"That's the difference. Those are the things you have to cope with and the things you have to elevate your game to."

Murty added: "People say, 'oh well, back to the Championship and real football'. I have never, ever subscribed to that point of view and never will.

"This is where we want to be and we'll be doing our best to stay because it was a horrible, hard journey to get here.

"This might be the last chance for some players to be in the Premier League and we have to scrap like hell to make sure we stay there."