Adam McGurk: I hope Pompey win promotion

Paul Cook’s side head to Cambridge United tomorrow seeking to bounce back from last weekend’s demoralising Fratton Park defeat against Notts County.

Managed by Shaun Derry and with James Dunne among their playing ranks, the U’s retain a Blues flavour.

Then there is summer acquisition McGurk – shown the door by Cook on the eve of the season following 36 appearances and six goals.

The forward’s final Pompey outing was the heartbreaking League Two play-off semi-final defeat at Plymouth Argyle.

Now he is carving out a career at the Abbey Stadium, with nine appearances to date, having been sidelined at the season’s start by a knee injury.

And for the Fratton faithful’s sake, he would like to see his former club finally depart League Two this campaign.

He said: ‘That’s football, people come and go. Obviously, the manager made it clear to me he didn’t want me there so Cambridge came in.

‘It was the right decision to move. With how I was being treated down there it looked as though I wasn’t going to be involved that much.

‘I could have stayed at Burton, but it was a privilege to play at Pompey, even if it was for just one season. It’s something you can always look back on when you retire and say you played for such a good club.

‘The fans were ridiculous, you just don’t see anything like that in League One or League Two.

‘Everyone knows it is a Championship club and for the fans’ sake I hope they get the success they deserve because it is a massive club. Win, lose or draw they are always behind you.

‘It was just a shame we couldn’t give them the success last year because those supporters deserve a lot more.

‘If we are being honest, we should have gone up automatically last season but were not consistent enough. We’d pump teams one week and then struggle against the so-called lesser teams another week.

‘I still keep in touch with quite a few of the players such as Kal Naismith, Kyle Bennett, Enda Stevens and Gary Roberts.

‘The results seem so patchy for Pompey at the minute and obviously it’s a results business at the end of the day.

‘The fans don’t want another year in League Two so, hopefully, they can get promotion this season.’

To the frustration of McGurk, he was largely utilised by Cook on the right of the attacking three.

However, all six of his Blues goals were registered while featuring in a more central role.

He added: ‘I prefer playing centrally and that was a big factor in going to Cambridge. Shaun Derry also saw me playing there and that appealed to me.

‘We usually play 4-4-2 and I have played in the two, with one coming short and the other going long.

‘I will play wide if asked, as I was the majority of my games at Pompey, but it’s not the role I enjoy the most.

‘At Pompey we had conversations about where I wanted to play, but the majority of times I didn’t play there. You just have to get on with it and play.’