Ex-Sheffield United, Coventry, Reading, and Sunderland striker Marc McNulty: I wish I could rewind and relive my time at Portsmouth. I love the place - and there's been nightmare times since

Not that the ex-Southampton boss meant for the collapse of the Scot’s scheduled permanent move to Fratton Park in the summer of 2016.

As Sheffield United manager, Adkins granted McNulty a loan spell at Paul Cook’s Blues in November 2015, culminating in being crowned leading scorer as they reached the League Two play-offs.

Subsequently, a return to Pompey was enthusiastically pursued, with transfer fees discussed and desirable residences on the south coast explored.

Yet the arrangement was scuppered by the sudden dismissal of Adkins, with replacement Chris Wilder keen to instead bring McNulty back in from the cold.

Cook turned to Michael Smith and Curtis Main to supply the firepower for a side which would win the League Two title that season, albeit with neither successful.

And for McNulty, the disappointment still aches at failing to reunite with a club and fanbase which captured his and finance Jade’s hearts.

‘It’s been a difficult last couple of years for myself football-wise, but Pompey gave me memories you wish you could rewind and relive,’ he told The News.

‘It has to be one of the favourite times of my career. Another was getting promoted with Coventry, but, in terms of life in general, both on and off the pitch, Pompey was definitely one of the better periods.

‘It was really disappointing not to come back. Cookie was asking “When are we going to make it happen, we want you back?”. I was also desperate to return and play too, I absolutely loved it there.

‘Things were progressing, I was really buzzing, we were looking at places to live, my fiance Jade was so keen to be there permanently. We wanted to get a deal done, we had to get a deal done.

‘If Nigel Adkins hadn’t been sacked, I would have joined permanently. That was hard to take.

‘He didn’t want me at Sheffield United. The reason I joined Pompey on loan in the first place was because he told me “You’re probably best going out and getting some games”.

‘My first season at Bramall Lane, I scored 13 goals and was joint-top scorer with Jose Baxter and we lost in the League One play-offs.

‘I thought I would kick on again in my second season, but that summer Nigel Clough was sacked, to be replaced by Nigel Adkins. His first signings were strikers Billy Sharp and Conor Sammon.

‘Going on loan to Pompey was a no-brainer. What a club. Not just on the pitch, but off it as well. Amazing, amazing people. The whole package was brilliant.

‘The experience of turning up at Fratton Park for a full house, then going to away games and there being more away fans than home fans, not many players experience that in their careers. It's something I’m really grateful for, even today.

‘After the loan I was coming back. Nigel Adkins didn’t really want me – Cookie did. This was it.

‘Then Adkins was sacked and replaced by Chris Wilder. I’d played against his Northampton team and he really liked me.

‘The outcome was he wanted me to stay at Sheffield United. That was that. I never came close again to returning to Pompey. That still disappoints me to this day.’

Pompey were third in League Two when Paul Cook added McNulty to his squad in November 2015.

Matt Tubbs had fallen out of favour, summer recruit Adam McGurk was hampered by injuries, while the emerging Conor Chaplin was seen chiefly as a bench option.

Cook had signed Caolan Lavery on loan from Sheffield Wednesday the previous month – but McNulty was viewed as the pivotal striking recruit.

As it turned out, he finished as the Blues’ top scorer with 12 goals in 34 appearances.

McNulty added: ‘I played against Cookie when he was manager at Chesterfield and I was at Sheffield United, scoring in both games against them in 2014-15, so they knew about me.

‘But Michael Doyle pushed it and spoke well of me. The manager cracked a joke when I joined that they only signed me because Doyler had told them to!

‘He did the same when he went to Coventry a few years later. Doyler spoke to the manager (Mark Robins) and they signed me off the back of his recommendation.

‘I had quite a few options at the time, but Pompey were a big, big club. A couple of teams in League One wanted to take me on loan, but Doyler told me how good it was down there, it was a no-brainer.

‘It didn’t bother me dropping into League Two. At the end of my career, I’d like to look back and reflect on playing for bigger clubs rather than bigger leagues, that means more to me.

‘I loved playing under Cookie as well, absolutely loved him. We’ve kept in touch and I wish we could work together again.

‘He was nuts, passionate, unpredictable, crazy in a good way. He loves football and that reflects on his teams, they will pass the ball, play the right way and work hard.

‘I just loved the way he was really honest with me. I hurt my hamstring a couple of weeks before the play-off game against Plymouth and was rushing back.

‘He was telling me “No, no, no, you’re going to play for me in this play-off, you are going to start regardless of how fit you are. Don’t rush, just make sure you are ready for this game”. Little things like that I thought was brilliant.

‘While at Pompey, my granny was unwell and the Edinburgh hospital said she could pass away overnight. Cookie told me to stay up there for a few nights, but to be back for the game at the end of the week.

‘I managed to say goodbye to her and attended the funeral a few days later before returning for the match. Cookie is a good person as well as a good manager.

‘He was crazy, though! In games he’d be shouting and screaming, clapping with the fans, singing along to the songs.

‘In terms of coaching, he was really hands on, which was great. In team meetings he had this little laser pen, so when we watched the game back he’d point to things and ask what you were doing – with more explicit words than that!

‘Pompey was the only time in my career where players had to sign a register when you arrived and also sign out. He’d be sitting there in his office when you arrived, waiting for you. You didn’t want to be late.

‘Even at the end of training, when sometimes you had to shoot off to get back for your missus or to be with your baby, you had to sign out. He’d be there wanting to know why you were leaving and saying you should be in the gym.

‘Cookie was brilliant.’

McNulty rattled off seven goals in his opening 13 outings for Pompey, including a hat-trick in the 6-0 triumph over York at Fratton Park in November 2015.

However, by the turn of the year, a 1-0 home defeat to Oxford United heralded a costly dip in Blues form, winning just two of their next eight League Two fixtures.

Come the season’s end, Cook’s men had finished sixth - seven points adrift of Bristol Rovers in the third automatic promotion spot.

In May 2016, Fratton Park staged the first leg of their play-off semi-final against Plymouth.

McNulty opened the scoring in the third minute of a match which ended 2-2 – a special moment many of those present still fondly recall.

He said: ‘That roar, it seemed as though the fans were celebrating that goal for such a long time.

‘I don't think you get many special moments over the course of your career, but that’s definitely one. Amazing, what an unbelievable atmosphere from classy fans.

‘I’ll always treasure that. It was the play-offs, the atmosphere in the build-up, the rivalry, getting the first goal in a game live on TV. Everything added up for it to be such a magic night.

‘It’s such a shame we lost in the second leg at their place, which was also my last appearance for the club.

‘I look back and wish I could have stayed there a bit longer. Even when I was at Reading, we’d drive down to Portsmouth for the day with the kids, walking along the beach and visiting the Southsea Beach Cafe.

‘If it was up to Jade, if there was one team, one place, she would move to tomorrow, it would be Portsmouth. Honestly, she absolutely loved the place. We got a dog when we first moved there and walked along Southsea beach every day.

‘After training I’d meet her in Portsmouth, we’d find a different cafe for a coffee and a cake, we absolutely loved it. On that Southsea beach every day, rain, sun, snow - we were there.

‘My dad Jimmy loved it too. He’d fly down at weekends to watch my games and thought he was looked after so well by the club, especially Mark Catlin, who was brilliant with him.

‘Dad loves football, he loves proper fans, and he got Pompey fans - proper football supporters.

‘After Nigel Adkins’ sacking, there was never another time I could have come back, not really. After that it was pretty quiet. I spoke to Mark Catlin a couple of times, even at Reading when I wanted to come back, but it never quite materialised.

‘I’m actually happy to speak about Pompey all day because it brings back such great memories. It has amazing people, it’s a great place to live, and hopefully one day I manage to get back to play, you never know.’

Despite Wilder’s desire to keep McNulty, the striker played just five more times for the Blades, spending the bulk of the 2016-17 campaign on loan at Bradford.

Barely 12 months after the disappointment of missing out on a permanent Pompey move, he was handed a free transfer and reunited with former Blues skipper Michael Doyle at Coventry.

Following 29 goals during a League Two campaign which resulted in promotion through the play-offs, McNulty joined Championship Reading in a big-money move in July 2018.

However, that turned sour, with one goal in 17 appearances for the Royals, instead sent out on loans to Hibernian (twice), Sunderland and Dundee United (twice).

Following 26 goals in four years, the 29-year-old is now a free agent and seeking the next chapter of his playing career.

‘Since Reading it has been a bit of a nightmare, to be honest,’ McNulty added.

‘I don’t want to keep bringing up their name because it’s something in the past, but it has been a bit stop-start in the last couple of years. Hopefully wherever I end up this year I can reboot my career again.

‘It’s not that I regret joining Pompey permanently, otherwise would I have ended up at Coventry, scoring all those goals and winning promotion?

‘Rather it’s the disappointment of not having the chance to go back and play for them in front of those fantastic fans.

‘Since moving to England at the age of 21, I’ve had constantly changing managers. Nigel Clough was sacked, Paul Cook took me on loan, Nigel Adkins was sacked, Chris Wilder took over, while I was with Mark Robins for a year.

‘Then Paul Clement signed me at Reading and they had five managers and three caretakers over four years, while I also had a few loans during that time.

‘I’ve never had the stability of being at a club longer than a year or two. I thought I had it at Pompey once under a great manager, but unfortunately that didn’t turn out either.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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