Ex-Charlton, Reading, Birmingham and Leicester man revelling in all-action start to life at Portsmouth as he proves instant hit

It’s certainly been an all-action introduction to life at Fratton Park for the no-nonsense Michael Morrison.

The 34-year-old has been an ever-present in the Blues’ opening nine league fixtures, forming a fine partnership with Sean Raggett.

Despite stranded without a club until the end of July, Morrison has slotted in at Pompey with the minimum of fuss and with maximum return.

And the former Charlton and Sheffield Wednesday man is revelling in his pivotal role with Danny Cowley’s second-placed side.

He told The News: ‘Apart from the Peterborough mistake, I feel like I’ve played well and really enjoyed it.

‘When you get to my age, you’re still motivated to try to achieve something.

‘It’s different when you are 20-21, you think your career is in front of you. With mine, I haven’t got quite as many years as Dane Scarlett left, so you take every game as it comes. I have a real pride in continuing playing and making sure I enjoy it.

‘What happened to me against Peterborough was personally disappointing, but it's not the first time I’ve made a mistake like that or cost a goal – and I’m sure it won’t be the last time.

‘During the match, you can’t recover from that, you can’t change that mistake. It’s not about saying “Right, I’m now going to do this, I’m going to do that”, just be level headed and concentrate on what you can affect.

‘I’m an experienced player, I realise you just have to forget about giving the opposition a goal after five minutes, which is easier said than done.

‘Keep your head and play the game – and fortunately Dane Scarlett was on fire and we won the match.

‘We have a good side here and hopefully things can keep rolling for us.’

Pompey even topped the table late last month following a 1-0 win at Port Vale.

Although Morrison’s contribution to that Vale Park result was restricted to the opening 10 minutes following a head collision with Ellis Harrison.

He added: ‘I’ve never come off with a head injury before.

‘Ellis Harrison came running through and I caught the back of his head. You know it's coming, but you've got to head it. It was a bit of a cheap one for him to get on me.

‘I thought I would be all right, then 5-10 minutes later I was still a little hazy. I knew when I was, so it wasn’t a full concussion.

‘I’m 34 and have headed a few heads in my time, while broken my nose twice, but at Port Vale I didn’t feel right and had to be safe, going through all the right protocols.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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