The moment’s nearly here: What Portsmouth homecoming means for returning hero against Sheffield Wednesday
Tomorrow will make it 2,594 days since his last Fratton outing for Pompey. Now Conor Chaplin talks abut what the Championship occasion against Sheffield Wednesday will mean to him.
Conor Chaplin readied for his Fratton Park homecoming and acknowledged: This is why I came back.
The returning Pompey hero admitted moments like his return to PO4 against Sheffield Wednesday is what convinced the huge favourite returning to his childhood club was the move for him.
Chaplin on Fratton return: ‘I can’t wait, I can’t wait’
Chaplin is gearing up for an emotional return to his old stomping ground against the Owls tomorrow, seven years - or 2,594 days on - from his last home appearance in royal blue. That outing came as a substitute in a 2-1 defeat against AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup, before the attacker departed on loan for Coventry City ahead of a permanent exit being completed.
Much has happened in Chaplin’s career since as he settled at Ipswich Town and helped the Suffolk outfit reach the Premier League with back-to-back promotions. But, with there no guarantee of regular minutes at Portman Road, the 28-year-old engineered a return to the only club he had interest in moving to at the window’s climax.
Now Chaplin is certain of a rousing welcome, as he aims to help deliver success to continue Pompey’s upwardly mobile start to the Championship season.
He said: ‘We’re looking forward to Sheffeld Wednesday. I can’t wait, I can’t wait. It’s another one to be really excited for.
‘To be at Fratton again, I’m just so excited. I was a bit gutted actually the first derby wasn’t at Fratton, but the only thing next to that was an away debut in a south-coast derby.
‘So I’m really thankful I’ve been given two massive games in two consecutive weeks to look forward to.
‘These are exactly the moments that made me come, this is why. It was either stay at Ipswich or this, there was nothing else for me. There was nothing else in my head in terms of entertaining anything else.’
Pompey fans will see different footballer to one who left PO4
Chaplin believes Pompey fans will be watching a very different player in action tomorrow to the wone who left Fratton Park seven years ago.
He was viewed as an out-and-out striker back then with a focus on hitting the back of the net - once which saw him branded an ‘assassin’ by former boss Paul Cook. The academy graduate now operates in a deeper-lying role with a focus on crafting openings and, in his view, a game more about the team.
He added: ‘I was 21 when I left and it’s been a while. I left as a number nine and I’m definitely less of one now than I was.
‘I’ve become more of a creator and I care a lot about things that are maybe the more glamorous side of the game. I care loads about second balls now, duals and competing - it matters a lot to me
‘There’s being there for my team-mates and having my team-mates rely on me, there’s that. I’m probably more of a creator and passer, but I don’t want to lose that part of my game when I’m in the box either.’’