Portsmouth owner Michael Eisner declares Premier League ambition - and addresses January transfer plans
The Blues chairman delivered a pre-recorded video message to the Pompey Supporters’ Trust this evening
Michael Eisner has reiterated his Premier League ambition for Pompey.
And the confident Blues chairman is adamant John Mousinho’s men will once again avoid relegation from the Championship.
Addressing members of the Portsmouth Supporters’ Trust this evening in a customary pre-recorded video message, Eisner was joined on-screen by son Breck.
The Q&A event also involved Andy Cullen, Rich Hughes and John Mousinho taking their place on a strong panel at the Victory Lounge evening.
Before proceedings, during a 12-minute message Michael Eisner addressed a number of issues, including Tornante’s ongoing ambition for the Blues and January transfer window plans.
And he insists the Premier League remains Pompey’s goal, irrespective of their current placing of 19th in the Championship.
Eisner said: ‘We are always asked about our ambition - about Tornante’s ambition - and we’ve had the same ambition we’ve had since 2017. We want to get into the Premier League.
‘We have patience, we had patience getting from League One to the Championship, we are now in the Championship, and that (the Premier League) is our goal.
‘I will say that through (our) 7-8 years, the fans have been fantastic, the selling out (of Fratton Park) has been great and it is different from most professional teams that I have seen.
‘The other thing I think I should mention is we have a really good squad, we've had unfortunate injuries, a lot of team have that, and I know there is a lot of talk about how we don’t have the most expensive squad.
‘Let me tell you one thing, we owned a baseball team and the first year I had all the pressure from the fans and we brought a $100m first base in. The first pitch in the first game, he fell into the dug-out and was out for the season.
‘The second season, he had an accident with the snowball machine, and in the third season he gained 40lbs. We then decided, not for financial reasons, we are going to go to new, young, aggressive players and this worked. We won the World Series, it worked for us in hockey - and it’s going to work for us eventually on the pitch here in Portsmouth. I am really excited about the way we have done that.
‘I will say that, with the January window coming up, we are going to keep the path we’re on, we are going to look for young, aggressive players, we are going to use loans where we need them for the second half of the season.
‘With three players now coming back from injuries, I think now we are going to see a change.’
Pompey collected a crucial 3-1 victory over Millwall on Saturday, representing their first win in seven matches.
Son and boardroom director Breck had been in attendance at Fratton Park for the triumph and also contributed to the pre-recorded message.
And, echoing his message from last season, Michael Eisner again insisted John Mousinho’s men will be staying up.
He added: ‘I still believe in the strategy of getting good players and advancing your team, but also saleable, which is a way to make up for the losses which will happen for us.
‘As Eric said last year, we do not want to be a yo-yo club, we do not want to go back down to League One, we want to go up the ladder, we want to be financially intelligent.
‘We are as enthusiastic as always, all three of my sons and Jayne are enthusiastic, we just have to figure out the finances, and get the parliament law completed (Independent Football Regulator) and we have to not be relegated.
‘I am always optimistic. For the last time, we are not being relegated - trust me.’