Gaffer: Portsmouth win over Fleetwood was a little Kenny Jackett-esque, unfortunately

Gaffer for a Day, Will Hahn, aged 50, from Waterlooville, delivers his verdict on Pompey’s 1-0 opening-day win at Fleetwood...
Gaffer for a Day, Will Hahn, from Waterlooville, chose Sean Raggett as his man of the match against Fleetwood. Picture: Paul Thompson/ProSportsImagesGaffer for a Day, Will Hahn, from Waterlooville, chose Sean Raggett as his man of the match against Fleetwood. Picture: Paul Thompson/ProSportsImages
Gaffer for a Day, Will Hahn, from Waterlooville, chose Sean Raggett as his man of the match against Fleetwood. Picture: Paul Thompson/ProSportsImages

Finally, the fans are back. How did it feel?

Thankfully, it felt very normal. Traffic on the M6, having a quick pre-match pint in the pub, singing your heart out, and hearing people moan about a few things.

Saturday was my first league game since we lost 3-1 at MK Dons in December 2019, although I did go to a few friendlies. So it was a special day.

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It was lovely having time surrounded by people you don’t know, yet celebrate together when your team scores. That camaraderie is fantastic.

It’s the first day of a new season, we’ve been let back in after the pandemic, there are new players – and hopefully it’s going to be a successful year.

What did you make of Pompey’s performance?

It was a little Jackett-esque, to be honest. We let them come to us, we lobbed the ball up front and John Marquis struggled.

Having said that, there was Shaun Williams’ pre-match injury and that must have had a bit of an impact on how we played.

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Williams and Tunnicliffe have played alongside each other before, while Connor Ogilvie isn’t suited to the position. That probably made Tunnicliffe a bit more cautious as he’s looking after Ogilvie.

Still, Williams aside, it was probably the best XI we have at present, while you can’t be too hard on the performance – you don’t win or lose a season on the opening game.

Who was your man of the match?

We didn’t really have anyone outstanding. I suppose the player who made the least mistakes was Sean Raggettt, so I’ll go for him.

Although caught out once or twice, he was steady and did the simple things well, sticking his head and foot in when it mattered.

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Ryan Tunniclffe was a bit more involved in the second half and, along with everyone else, when the goal went in he began to get more comfortable and composed on the ball.

Clark Robertson has looked really good pre-season, but his distribution let him down. Although he wasn’t beaten that often defensively.

How do you feel Pompey will do this season?

There’s a varying scale of expectation day to day.

When we brought in Ryan Tunnicliffe and Shaun Williams, I expected to get the play-offs comfortably.

After Saturday, I think we’ll still be play-off contenders, maybe sneaking in with a couple of games left.

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Certainly we’ll be knocking on the door and there or thereabouts, with potentially new players then changing things.

The depth of the squad is a concern, we need to get in four or five more players. We have a strong first 14, but lack a bit after that.

Alex Bass 6

Kieron Freeman 5

Clark Robertson 5

Sean Raggett 7

Lee Brown 6

Ryan Tunnicliffe 6

Connor Ogilvie 5

Marcus Harness 5

Gassan Ahadme 5

Ronan Curtis 6

John Marquis 6

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