Portsmouth defender lifts lid on dealing with online abuse

The Blues defender has paid tribute to the supporters who backed him in the face of social media abuse.

Burgess feels a level-headed approach to the flak which flew his way on his return to the first-team picture has held him in good stead.

The 27-year-old found himself in the firing line after a mistake led to a goal moments after replacing the injured Jack Whatmough against Doncaster last month.

After a wave of stick, fans leapt to the League Two title-winner’s defence which he found heartening.

But ultimately Burgess feels it’s the strength of his own convictions and belief in his ability which is key.

He said: ‘It was nice of the fans and the way they reacted (to Twitter abuse).

‘But I do believe in myself and I can see the bigger picture.

‘I believe in myself and my own game that things will come.

‘Also, it’s football. It means a lot to me and this club means a lot to me, but, of course, there are bigger things in life.

‘I think I go out there and give everything in every game.

‘I’ve always had a belief that when I’ve played a few games I have the ability to do well.

‘Football is a game of opinions, so you’re never going to get too downhearted when one person doesn’t like you.

‘There will be managers out there who don’t rate me and managers who think I’m a good player.

‘It’s all about attitudes and opinions - and football has always been that way.

‘Some of the greatest players in the world will be called rubbish by others.

‘It’s mad, but that’s the game we’re in so you shouldn’t feel too bad if people don’t like you.

‘There’s plenty of people out there with split opinions on me. Life goes on.

‘I’m not a person who makes a lot of noise on Twitter.

‘There’s so many people like that. They normally are the majority.

‘You see extremes on social media. There are thousands watching a game who wouldn’t have felt it was that bad.

‘There’s kids who are eight or 10 on there doing it. If you are going to take their opinion seriously you’ve got a problem.

‘There’s a lot people who won’t voice their opinions as loud, and you take comfort from that as well.

‘It’s like what the gaffer said, if you don’t want people’s opinions you maybe shouldn’t be in this business. That was spot on.’

Much has been made of the home atmosphere amid the recent drop in results, as tension has mounted.

Burgess feels the Barnsley clash on Saturday showed Fratton Park remains a positive force, however.

He added: ‘The fans are passionate. They want to win and want to succeed. We all share that.

‘There’s a lot more toxic atmospheres out there at different grounds than Fratton Park.

‘We’re lucky, and the atmosphere and support we got on Saturday was brilliant.

‘They could’ve perhaps been negative because of the point, but they appreciated it was a good performance.

‘They appreciated the effort and the way we played. We created some chances and were the better side.

‘The way the Barnsley players reacted by being really happy with their point showed how well we played.’