225 days on the Portsmouth sidelines - Ben Close admits point to prove to Kenny Jackett

The 24-year-old had previously been a fixture in Kenny Jackett’s side, a regular holding midfield sidekick to Tom Naylor.

Yet, before Saturday, he featured in just 10 minutes of league and play-off football for almost seven-and-a-half months.

Still, Close replaced Bryn Morris for the visit of Doncaster – marking his third appearance in all competitions this season.

The outcome was a 1-0 defeat for Jackett’s men, undone by Reece James’ 79th-minute goal.

However, Close can be pleased with his comeback display, slotting in as if he had never been away.

He told The News: ‘I’m happy to get my first start in a long time, but obviously disappointed with the result.

‘I felt good. I had a game at Southend not too long ago and that was enough to get that match fitness and become used to being back out there, playing in a competitive game again.

‘I had a touch of cramp towards the end at Southend, but didn’t come off. It’s getting used to playing competitively again. It’s been a while before that.

‘I’m physically fine. I did feel that I tired towards the end on Saturday, but that’s probably normal in terms of how many minutes I’ve played recently.

‘It's not easy to go and play a game in League One and to physically be where you want for the whole game on the back of not playing too much.

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‘So I was pleased with 90 minutes at Southend and then 81 minutes against Doncaster. I'm just looking to build on that now.

‘It’s about proving yourself. That’s the case whenever you get dropped.

‘Every time the season starts you have to prove yourself – and whether you’ve got the same manager or different manager.

‘You have to prove yourself when not in the team and prove what you can bring to the team when you get the chance to play again.

‘It has obviously been frustrating, but it’s in the past now. I’m just focused on trying to keep my place in the team.’

Close’s Doncaster outing represented his 165th for his home-town club after coming through the ranks.

Now he’s hoping to retain his place for Tuesday’s trip to Gillingham (6.30pm).

He added: ‘I did feel at times we had some good bits of play on Saturday.

‘Obviously we didn’t have enough chances to go and win the game, but there were some promising moments.

‘We’ve just got to build on that, look at what we didn’t do well, and take it into Tuesday.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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