Ex-chairman Iain McInnes handed Portsmouth Royal Box invite for Checkatrade Trophy final against Sunderland

The former Blues chairman and wife Jane will be seated in the Royal Box for Sunday’s Checkatrade Trophy final against Sunderland.

McInnes relinquished his role in the Fratton Park boardroom in the summer of 2017, ahead of the club’s sale to Tornante.

During four years as chairman, he oversaw the Blues’ emergence through administration and subsequent stabilisation, culminating in the League Two title.

Since departing Pompey, he has taken over Southern League premier division south side Gosport Borough.

But on Sunday he will be sat among Pompey’s Wembley contingent during pursuit of more silverware.

Mark Catlin said: ‘Iain has been invited and I look forward to seeing him there.

‘Michael (Eisner) and our board will never forget the people involved in saving this club.

‘They have a fantastic legacy and, in my opinion, did the right thing at the right time in passing the baton on.

‘This Wembley final is something which should be celebrated by everyone involved during those dark times, there were so many unsung heroes.

‘With fan ownership, there isn’t a template, it does not have a proven track record of success. There are far more failures of fan ownership.

‘During those four years – and even in administration – Iain along with others on the board were always very, very protective of me in terms of being exposed too much to fan pressure when making decisions.

‘It was very much “What do you think Mark? You make the right decision, right or wrong we will still support you”.

‘It’s too easy to look at a poll online and think “Why aren’t we doing this because the fans say we should”. The board never did that, they always stressed it had to be run as a business, it had to be run properly.

‘As a result, I always felt very well protected by members of the board – and that includes Iain.’