‘First to admit’: Portsmouth defender’s remarkably honest form confession after former Reading man’s return

And the defender acknowledged he could have no issue with losing his place in John Mousinho’s side, as his performances failed to meet his expected standards.

But McIntyre told how he believes he can now look forward with optimism to his Fratton career accelerating, after a stop-start period impacted by injuries.

The 26-year-old returned to the team against Norwich after a three-game absence, replacing the injured Regan Poole at the break in the 0-0 draw.

That followed McIntyre losing his place in the team after a run of 10 starts, in a season where he’s had his own hamstring issue in the wake of fracturing his ankle on his debut in February.

McIntyre gave an honest account of his situation, but feels both he and his team are in a position to now look forward this term.

He said: ‘I had a good run, but it was frustrating to come out of the side.

‘That’s the manager’s decision and the boys have been picking up the results, so you couldn’t really argue with it.

‘I was pleased to get a good run but then I feel I haven’t been playing my best football, I’d be the first one to admit that.

‘I think I did have some good games, but maybe it just comes with time.

‘I was out for a long time this year and it was a frustrating period, but I now feel like I’m just getting back into the flow of things.

‘Me and Regan have been talking about that. As a two, we have very high standards and we’ve been a bit frustrated about it.

‘But when results come it builds confidence, so hopefully we can look forward now.’

McIntyre’s stop-start Pompey career follows on from a similar period in terms of playing time in his final months at Reading last term.

It means the end of the 2022-23 season was the last time he had a bank of games, similar to the run he had from September until the start of November at Pompey.

McIntyre added: ‘Last season when I was with Reading I didn’t really play much at all.

‘So it has been a long time since I’ve had a run of games. It can be tough when you’ve not had that run for a long time. That’s what you play football for, but I’m here and I’m relishing it.’