Former defender sends Portsmouth 10-word message after Championship survival confirmed
Christian Burgess has sent Pompey a 10-word message after their Championship survival was confirmed.
A number of John Mousinho’s squad have also taken to social media to celebrate after the Blues booked their place in next year’s second tier.
Pompey finally secured their spot in the 2025-26 competition with a 1-0 win over 10-man Watford at Fratton Park on Saturday - a win that sparked jubilant celebrations from players and supporters at the final whistle.
Colby Bishop bundled home the only goal of the game in the first half, before the Hornets had Kevin Keben sent off just before the hour mark for hauling down goal-bound Josh Murphy.
Although 10 minutes were added on due to a number of stoppages in the second half for both sides, Mousinho’s troops were able to hang on to secure all three points which sealed their Championship status.
However, it wasn’t just the Fratton faithful who were enjoying the latest Blues achievement. League Two title winner and firm favourite Burgess was also keeping a close eye on proceedings.
And The News’ 2019-20 Player Of The Year and EFL Trophy winner took to X to send a classy 10-word message following Pompey’s Championship success.
The 33-year-old said in a post after the game: ‘Buzzing for everyone connected to the club! Up the blues.’
Burgess is still enjoying life in Belgium and is continuing his battle for a European spot with Royal Union-Saint Gilloise.
After finishing the Belgian Pro League regular season in 3rd, the top six then move into a round-robin tournament to decide the winner, while the top three book their places in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League respectively.
USG now sit second in the standings - two points off leaders Club Brugge - and have won all four games in the competition. Burgess featured Sunday’s 2-1 triumph over Genk and has amassed 34 appearances in all competitions this term.
Since his switch to Les Unionistes in June 2020, the centre-back has registered 165 outings in all competitions and has appeared on the European stage on a number of occasions for the Belgian side.
How Pompey players celebrated Championship survival
It wasn’t just the former Fratton favourite who took to social media to celebrate the success. A number of Mousinho’s squad took to Instagram to express their joy over confirming their survival.
In a message to supporters on social media, Isaac Hayden posted: ‘Delighted to have achieved safety with two games remaining, for the players, the coaching and backroom staff, everyone deserves it for all the hard work and dedication through adversity at times this season. Hopefully we can finish the season on a high with good performances in the remaining games, giving momentum for the club next season.’
Meanwhile, Callum Lang, who made his first appearance in more than two months after being sidelined with a hamstring issue, was full of emotion after completing his return by saying: ‘Back out on the grass, Fratton bouncing as always. Safety confirmed, some achievement.’
The season is not over yet for Mousinho’s troops, who are back in action on Saturday as they make the trip to Sheffield Wednesday before welcoming relegation-scrapping Hull City on the final day.