'We all want what's best': Marlon Pack calls for Portsmouth ambition after securing his cherished Fratton future
The midfielder returned to Fratton Park for a second playing spell in June 2022
Marlon Pack admits his emotional homecoming has ‘exceeded any expectation I had’.
Now Pompey’s skipper is targeting creating more cherished memories after securing another 12-month deal.
The Buckland lad and life-long Blue will remain at his beloved Fratton Park for the 2026-27 campaign having become the first out-of-contract player to extend his stay.
With 154 appearances, 10 goals and the League One title, Pack continues to relish his time as a Pompey player, while prolonging a fine playing career also spent at Wycombe, Cheltenham, Bristol City and Cardiff.
And the 35-year-old, who returned for a second spell in June 2022, is still living his boyhood dream during this second spell.
‘I love this football club’
He told The News: ‘I was struggling a bit with a knee issue at the end of the season, it’s just something I have been playing with for ages.
‘I have played a lot of games in my career, put my body on the line over these stretches of games, even coming on against Birmingham in the last match, you just love it.
‘I love this football club, I just want the best for this football club - and hopefully to continue to climb and build and slowly get back to where we belong.
‘I expected to be a bit-part player at the start of pre-season, then it was a case of “Do you know what, I’ll have a look at it”. I started against Reading in a friendly and we didn’t really have a number six in the building.
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‘Then I got injured against Brighton in a friendly - and then I had knee surgery and missed the start of the season.
‘I remember the Ipswich game at the end of September when we were in a bit of indifferent form. I came on and scored, then stayed in for a few games, with quite a few positive results.
‘I can be open and honest about that. I don’t want to feel like I am downplaying myself, I’m genuinely happy and grateful to be here at this football club. Especially when I signed back here after Cardiff.
‘It was always a risk coming back, but, after those first couple of years, look at what we’ve done now. Next year will be five years back at this football club for me, I will be 35 turning 36. Never in my wildest dreams did I envisage lifting that League One trophy here as captain and staying in the Championship.
‘That’s what we’ve deserved and, in terms of what we are competing against, it has been an unbelievable return for me and exceeded any expectation that I had.’
22 Championship starts in 2025-26
Pack made 22 Championship starts this season, crucially back in his favoured central midfield spot after standing in as an emergency centre-half for large parts of 2024-25.
Subsequently, he has been a pivotal performer for the Blues as they secured Championship with two matches remaining to finish 18th.
The next stage of Pompey’s progress has to be climbing the Championship - a task which, inevitably, will require greater investment from chairman Michael Eisner.
It’s a challenge John Mousinho has spoken about publicly, with the head coach subsequently meeting co-owner Eric Eisner earlier this month to discuss the Blues’ ambition.
And, as skipper and a Pompey fan, inevitably Pack agrees with the Blues boss’ stance.
‘I want to see this football club continue to grow’
He added: ‘It’s obviously tougher for a player to speak openly about those issues because we are not privy to the ins and outs.
‘But we have seen this year once again what a tough division this is. We have stayed up, we have survived, yet it has also been a tough ask and it has been a stretch.
‘The gaffer just wants what’s best for this football club and that is right, that is the same for anyone. It’s the same for all the players, everyone wants to progress. There are obviously elements which we can control, there are games we should have done better in.
‘I want to see this football club continue to grow on and off the football pitch.’