Nevertheless, Portsmouth could still take many positives from their 2006–07 campaign, not least the fact that they had never, at any stage of the season, looked to be in danger of relegation, largely due to their massive improvement in away game form compared with their three previous Premier League outings and also that their home form had remained consistently strong. Additionally, there were also many encouraging results for the club, including victories over Manchester United, Everton, Reading, Newcastle and Liverpool. By the end of the season, they had amassed 54 points from 38 games (their best-ever achievement in the Premier League and their most successful finish to a season in over five decades) and recovered from their mid-season slump to finish a respectable ninth in the final table, much higher than many pundits had predicted before the season started. Portsmouth, however, declined to participate in the UEFA Intertoto Cup 2007, preferring to honour a commitment they had made to play in the 2007 Premier League Asia Trophy in Hong Kong with Liverpool, Fulham and South China AA between 24 and 27 July, dates which clashed with Intertoto ties.