Portsmouth fan’s pride after Fratton faithful ‘dig into pockets during hard times’ to assist with Mick Kennedy’s funeral costs

That is the verdict of Carl Miller, after the Fratton faithful rallied together to contribute to the costs of Mick Kennedy’s funeral. 

The Blues are mourning the death of the hall-of-famer, at the age of 57.

The Republic of Ireland international made 144 appearances for Pompey after arriving for £100,000 from Middlesbrough in 1984.

Kennedy skippered Alan Ball’s ‘Gremlins’ to promotion from Division Two in 1987 before he was sold to Bradford for £250,000 the following January. 

After his death, Miller set up a GoFundMe page for supporters who wanted to assist with the payment of the former fans’ favourite’s funeral.

It takes place at St. Michael's Church, Connolly, County Clare (Eircode V95 NX56) tomorrow at 11am.

Donations quickly started to pour in from both the Fratton faithful and fans of other clubs Kennedy represented during his career. 

The initial target of £3,000 was swiftly smashed, with more than £4,800 raised so far. 

Miller, from Gosport, saluted everyone who contributed. 

He said: ‘I know what Pompey fans are like and what they’ve done for people in the past but I didn’t expect this. 

‘I set the GoFundMe page up after writing an initial tweet. 

‘Players didn’t get paid big money back then so I just thought it would be a good idea to help out.

‘I set the target at £3,000 after Googling the average price of a funeral.

‘It seemed a good start and then it blew up in less than a day.

‘We’ve had donations from fans in terms of all of his former teams.

‘Pompey fans are best in times of need.

‘It’s got to make you proud to support the club, especially in hard times when people still want to dig into their pocket.’

Kennedy’s legacy is firmly etched into Fratton Park history.

And while Miller never watched the tough-tackling midfielder play, he’s well aware of his quality.

The 34-year-old added: ‘Kennedy was one of my dad’s favourite players. 

‘I don’t remember going to Fratton Park until the early 1990s but my family have been going since the mid-1950s – maybe even earlier than that.

‘I know Pompey’s history and he was captain of the best team Fratton has ever seen from what my dad said. 

‘I obviously knew about Mick Kennedy but the more I have read about him in the past few days is just unreal.’

Anyone wishing to donate to the costs of Kennedy’s funeral should visit www.gofundme.com/help-with-costs-towards-mick-kennedy039s-funeral