Portsmouth defender discusses Fratton future amid lack of playing time for Bristol City arrival

Ryley Towler has made it forcefully clear he wants to stay at Pompey despite a lack of football this season.

And the defender underlined he’s looking forward to being part of the Blues’ Championship adventure at Fratton Park, after a final-day return at Lincoln City.

Towler shone as he came back into the equation at Sincil Bank, producing a man-of-the-match performance in the 2-0 win.

The 21-year-old’s playing time has been heavily restricted this term, however, with Conor Shaughnessy emerging as one of the season’s big success stories.

That means Towler has been limited to just three starts - the opening-day draw against Bristol Rovers, January’s win at Fleetwood and the weekend success against the Imps.

The former Bristol City man is accepting of his situation, given the defensive strength being shown by his side and his relative inexperience compared to Pompey’s other central options at the back.

Towler is also simply loving life at Fratton Park and being part of a special group, one which John Mousinho stressed has seen all of its components contribute to this season’s success.

The fans’ favourite now intends to return in pre-season ready to fight it out to feature in the second tier next term.

Towler said: ‘It’s some feeling to be a Championship player.

‘I want to go away and stay fit over the summer - then be ready to come back. I want to enjoy the summer but then pre-season starts and we go again.

‘I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but I want to be part of it here. I don’t want to go anywhere - I love it here.

‘It’s a great football club. We’ve seen that over the last 10 days, well all season really. So, of course I don’t want to go anywhere. I love it here.

‘I’ve properly settled in and it’s a fantastic group who are properly close to each other. I haven’t really seen that at a lot of clubs, but it says a lot about why we’ve done so well this season. So, no, I don’t want to go anywhere!’