'If you don’t want promotion then you shouldn’t sign for Portsmouth': Popular defender pulls no punches over next season's ambition

The central defender is focused on pulling off a third promotion, having enjoyed previous success at Lincoln and Dover before his Fratton Park arrival in June 2019.

Disappointingly, his Blues career has so far yielded a play-off semi-final defeat to Oxford United, followed by League One finishes of eighth and 10th.

Nonetheless, Raggett remains sufficiently convinced by Pompey’s potential to last month sign a new two-year deal.

And the 29-year-old is desperate to add another promotion to his career CV.

Raggett told The News: ‘I’ve said this to Danny and Nicky, I want to get promoted, that’s my big thing, that’s my aim.

‘There’ll be a lot of talk about managing expectations, but I will put it simply: If you don’t want to get promoted then you shouldn’t be signing for Pompey.

‘That's how I look at it and that’s all our aims, the manager, staff, players, that is all we have on our minds.

‘I won promotion from the National League with Danny at Lincoln and also had one at Dover, so that’s two in total. It’s one of the best feelings in football.

‘Even now, five years on, I look back and think about promotion with Lincoln, I can remember the feeling when we did it, amazing, there’s nothing really better in football.

‘The opportunity to achieve it once again at Pompey is definitely a driving factor for me, like I’m sure for anyone else who has won promotion – and I definitely want it here at Pompey.

‘No way would I have signed a new contract if I thought this was going to be a mid-table finish. I wouldn’t have stayed.

‘I don’t want to play football just to play football for a little bit of money and retire, I want to achieve things, I want to achieve promotion at Pompey.

‘I wouldn't have re-signed here if I didn’t think that was possible next season.’

Under Cowley, Raggett was part of an Imps side which claimed the National League title in 2016-17.

They reached 99 points during a the defender’s maiden season at Sincil Bank, before sold to Norwich, albeit returning for six months on loan.

Before that, Raggett was a regular in the Dover side which won the Conference South play-offs in 2013-14 to reach the National League (then Conference Premier).

He added: ‘Lincoln fans pretty much look very fondly at our whole promotion team from that 2016-17 season.

‘You want to achieve good things in your career, the football career is so short and you don’t have loads of time to do it.

‘A lot of players will go through their whole career and have a very good career, but not really achieving too many moments of success.

‘When you come to a club like Pompey, you have a good chance to create some moments like that, that’s what we’re all aiming to do.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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