No regrets: The ex-Portsmouth winger flourishing at Lincoln after wanting Fratton Park exit

He may have opted to leave John Mousinho’s promotion project, but Reeco Hackett is flourishing away from Fratton Park.

The talented winger was one of the Blues’ longest-serving players when he quit for Lincoln in a £40,000 deal in June.

Keen for regular first-team football and with Mousinho willing to facilitate his departure, the move was mutually beneficial and long expected.

In Hackett’s absence, wide players Paddy Lane and Abu Kamara have established themselves as key performers for the League One leaders, providing goals and assists.

Yet the in-form 26-year-old himself is thriving, with clearly no regrets swapping Championship-chasing Pompey for Sincil Bank.

Lincoln have rattled off five wins and a draw during an outstanding February, lifting them up to 10th - and at the heart of it has been Hackett.

Coinciding with his return to fitness following almost three months out with injury, the former Bromley man has now scored four times in his last five appearances.

That culminated in netting the Imps’ second goal in Tuesday night’s 3-0 success over Shrewsbury as the plaudits keep on coming.

Indeed, Hackett has established himself as a popular figure among Lincoln supporters as he revels in new surroundings following a frustrating time at Fratton Park.

Recruited by Kenny Jackett in January 2020, he went on to score 11 goals in 79 appearances, yet largely struggled to claim a regular spot.

There were loans at Bromley and Southend, lengthy periods out through a variety of injuries, and first-team spells in unfamiliar roles at left-back and left wing-back.

Perhaps reasons why Hackett never fulfilled his potential during three-and-a-half years on the south coast when Jackett, Danny Cowley and Mousinho never truly saw the best of him.

There have been set-backs during this fresh start, however, despite registering twice in his opening four appearances for the Imps.

He subsequently went 13 games without scoring and then collected an injury against Fleetwood in October, with manager Mark Kennedy losing his job while the winger was sidelined.

However, Hackett returned to first-team duty in mid-January and re-established himself in a side which is now rising up the table under boss Michael Skubala.

With six goals in 25 games in all competitions so far this season, it’s a rare success story for someone who has left Fratton Park in recent times.

And with Pompey scheduled to visit Lincoln on the last day of the campaign, their paths will cross one more time.