‘I couldn’t sleep’ - What Man City starlet Alex Robertson said after Portsmouth home debut

Manchester City loanee Alex Robertson has admitted that he couldn't sleep ahead of making his home debut for Portsmouth.

The 20-year-old joined Pompey on loan on Monday, August 7, and had already made two appearances for the club but they came in wins over Forest Green Rovers and Leyton Orient which came on the road. He was given the nod to start by John Mousinho on Tuesday night, and played 81 minutes in the 1-0 win over Exeter City in which Colby Bishop scored the match-winning goal in the second-half.

In an interview with the club media, Robertson was asked of his thoughts prior to kick-off, and he said: "I was just really excited to get going and get into the game and just try do my best for the team and for the badge, and try and impress and excite fans.

"I was just really excited, even last night I couldn’t sleep because of the excitement but I really enjoyed it."

When asked what John Mousinho said to him ahead of his debut, Robertson responded: “He just said to be solid.

“Do all the basis right which is a given and just go and do your thing. It’s what I try and do, I just try and do what I try and do best, which is create goals and the other side of the game is try and be solid, and hopefully he was pleased with it.”

Robertson was one of two changes for Portsmouth as he made his full debit having replaced Christian Saydee, with Anthony Scully replacing Abu Kamara. He was awarded the man-of-the-match in The News player-ratings, and was described as a 'step ahead' of Exeter throughout the whole match. The Australian midfielder will now hope that he has done enough to earn a second consecutive start at home when Cheltenham Town visit this Saturday.

"It was awesome, the fans were brilliant, the game worked out well, we got the three points. There’s not much more I could’ve asked for, maybe a goal but there are always more games to get that.

"It was good, I would’ve liked to have got the ball a bit more," he added.

"But that comes with settling in a little bit more and being in the game a bit more, but like you said there were a few occasions where I could’ve scored and I just have to tuck them away, but I was quite happy with my first performance."

“It was unbelievable, like I said we got the win. We defended really well and attacked really well. It was an all-round good performance and to get the win in the end and to fight hard is really good.”