New Pompey Trust chairman reveals his vision

The 48-year-old was installed as chairman at a board meeting on Monday evening, replacing Ashley Brown.

The chartered accountant, who hails from Paulsgrove, takes over the Trust helm at a testing time following the relinquishment of fan ownership.

Nonetheless, he is determined for the group to retain a close association with all Blues followers on the path ahead.

And with three Trust seats on the Heritage & Advisory Board, Colebrook is seeking to represent supporter views in dialogue with the club’s Tornante owners.

He told The News: ‘We must ensure we are representing not just our members but the whole fanbase in terms of feeding information and feelings about the club into Tornante.

‘We have to recognise there is the possibility our membership could suffer a reduction in numbers, so it’s about reaching out to the other fans to prove we are relevant and there’s a purpose and a reason for them to join the PST.

‘There is also the issue of making sure we have the right direction – and there is to be a big consultation process with our members to make sure we are representing them in the way they want to be represented.

‘We must constantly talk to fans. That can be through the media, but also we need to be active on social media, possibly more active than we have been in the past couple of years.

‘I have already released a chairman’s blog and that is something I intend to carry on every month, with maybe a few from some of my colleagues as well.

‘If people understand what we are doing and why we are doing it then I am confident that will start to chime with people who aren’t necessarily members.

‘We need to start building some sense of relevance.’

On Monday, Colebrook will join Trust colleagues Pam Wilkins and Clare Martin at the inaugural Heritage & Advisory Board meeting.

And he believes that will provide an important voice.

Colebrook added: ‘We are in a position where we have an open door to people willing to listen (Tornante).

‘From conversations I’ve had with Mark Catlin and Andy Redman, there is a sense of it being a company’s non-executive board, where you would discuss issues to do with strategy and long-term development.

‘It’s important fans feel they have a route into those longer-term decisions by passing their feelings onto us.’