'I've been nowhere near my Portsmouth standards - but there are reasons': Regan Poole delivers truth behind post-injury struggles
Regan Poole has lifted the lid on his struggles to readjust to first-team football.
And he revealed mental challenges - rather than physical - have posed the toughest test after returning from 10 months out injured.
In a candid interview, the Wales international admits his performances are presently ‘nowhere near where I need to be’ as he strives to recapture his best Pompey form.
He returned to action in September, subsequently starting 10 successive Championship matches in the centre of John Mousinho’s defence.
However, despite a stunning return to the starting line-up at Burnley, his displays have been mixed, culminating in uncharacteristic misjudgements against Plymouth and Preston in recent weeks.
Regardless, Poole is now looking ahead after admitting a difficult reintroduction to regular football.
He told The News: ‘There's no hiding place in this game, you need to be honest. I have been nowhere near where I need to be - and I know that. But I believe I can get there, the Burnley game showed that.
‘It’s all well and good to say “You’re fit now, go and play football”, but it’s not like that. I went 10 months without playing and then had 90 minutes against Burnley. That game gave everyone a little false sense of hope.
‘Physically I feel fine, but mentally is the issue. It’s putting myself into situations that I haven’t been into for so long. It does take time to get used to being back on the pitch. This is the first occasion I’ve come back from an injury at all, never mind a long-term one.
‘I was warned by Steve Hard (Pompey’s physio) that, when you come back, it’s adrenaline which gets you through initially, you will feel on top of the world. But it soon halts - and it did. I was told it would be like this and it has.
‘At Burnley I was so glad to be back out there starting, it was real adrenaline, I didn’t feel anything, my body was numb, I was so happy. That was probably the worst thing which could have happened because it gave me a false sense of being back where I left off - and that’s not been the case.
‘I wrote that game off, after that first match it’s about how you back it up, which has been tough for me.
‘At Burnley I felt lege, for Sheffield United I felt really good, I was so happy to be back playing at Fratton Park, then it was Stoke and right back down. Not personally, just the team and a bad day.
‘Since then I have done things and thought to myself “I would never do that, so why have I?”. Mentally you are not bang at it - and you’re not going to be because you’ve been out for so long.
‘In certain games I have felt better than others. The first half against Preston I felt good, then a little lapse in concentration and there’s a goal.
‘I spoke to the gaffer a few weeks ago and he said it does take time. I knew exactly what he was on about. He’s told me it will take three months to feel back up to speed, so I know I’ll get there, it just takes a bit of time.
‘I have probably been a bit too harsh on myself, I know I’ve made mistakes and I need to be better, but I’ve been out for a long time and have probably played too much.
‘However, I’m happy I’ve played those games because they are under my belt now. I have made mistakes, but they’re done. I got through those games, they are in the bank, so I can only look forward.
‘I don’t know when it will all return, I wish I could tell you, hopefully Saturday. Every footballer goes through dips in form, it's about how you bounce back from it, and I will do everything I can to get back to where I was.’
With Conor Shaughnessy’s ongoing injury absence, Ibane Bowat ruled out for the season and Ryley Towler consistently overlooked, Mousinho has relied on Poole for regular duty.
Encouragingly, though, there has been no adverse reaction to the 26-year-old’s knee so far, despite a heavy first-team workload, and he is set to start at Blackburn on Saturday.
Poole added: ‘It’s confidence as well. Having confidence in your knee and your body, which I think I now have. I feel strong, I feel solid. It's putting it all together to be back where I left off.
‘I’ve had no problem with my left knee since, although you do feel things in your body that you probably wouldn’t feel before, the odd niggle.
‘I had a big surgery, with a lot of hamstring taken from my hamstring, so I tend to get quite a lot of hamstring stiffness after games which I didn’t get before. Overall, it’s just keeping on top of it.
‘I have to manage my body a lot more, which is new to me, I’ve never had to do that before. I have to do a bit more prehab than I would normally do.
‘But that is just part and parcel of what I have done and what I had to go through.’