'Nowhere near': Rejuvenated Regan Poole's honest Portsmouth admission as he targets recapturing form of his life

Regan Poole admits he has yet to recapture the scintillating Pompey performances of 21 months ago which earned an international breakthrough.

But with injury issues now behind him and a strong pre-season to date, the 27-year-old is convinced the Fratton faithful will once again be lauding his displays.

By his own admission, Poole was in the form of his life after joining the Blues in July 2023 following his Lincoln departure.

Indeed, just 12 matches into his fledgling Pompey career, the centre-half was finally handed a first Wales cap, with a start against Gibraltar in October 2023.

Then arrived the untimely ACL injury in the FA Cup first round against Chesterfield, ruling him out of the remainder of that League One title-winning campaign.

The ex-Manchester United man has since returned to make another 27 appearances for the Blues - yet is adamant he has still to return to previous heights.

Nonetheless, after a frustrating wait, he’s itching to unleash the real Regan Poole in the forthcoming season.

Poole: ‘First Portsmouth season was best form of my career’

He told The News: ‘Was I fully ready last season? I'm not sure, I had been out for such a long time, but I’m just trying to get my body used to the hard work and into as best shape as possible to get back to my best.

‘My displays last season were nowhere near where I wanted to be. If you look at my performances when I first signed for the club to when I came back from my injury, it was nowhere near that.

‘I would say that (2023-24 season) was the best form of my career. I was loving the way I was playing at that time, we were winning, top of the league, I had just been called up for my country, so the timing of the injury was a big kick in the teeth.

‘I’m just glad everyone got to see what I did there, they know what I’m capable of. They know last season I was nowhere near my best, so it’s time to hit this season head on and get back to that.

‘I know I have gone from League One to the Championship over the last two years, but that’s not the reason why my performances weren’t there. I know I can perform at this level, that wasn't the issue.

‘It was more me coming back from a long time out, playing a lot of games, never really getting into a rhythm. Confidence was a little low because, as a team, we weren't performing as a team as well as we could.

‘It definitely wasn’t the league which was the factor in me not performing, it was more myself. I didn’t hit the heights I’d have liked coming back from injury, I so wanted to perform the best I could.

‘But I needed to be realistic in myself. I was out for a long, long time so I was never going to come back and boom, I’m back, picking up exactly where I left off. It’s kind of impossible, nobody does that. It takes people a while to get back up to speed.

‘That is behind me now. It’s massive to get back to my best this season - and I definitely believe I can do that.’

Return after 10 months out

After 10 months out, Poole returned to Pompey action in September 2024, with a substitute outing against West Brom.

However, following 13 successive starts amid a centre-half shortage, he tore his hamstring against Norwich two-and-a-half months later, followed by a calf issue.

Having been absent for another 14 matches, Poole was back in February for another first-team stint and helped usher John Mousinho’s men to Championship safety.

‘A season of massive learning for me’

He added: ‘It was the same hamstring which my graft was taken from, so definitely connected with my earlier injury.

‘However, that happened because of an accumulation of games, maybe too quickly, and it kind of caught up with me a bit.

‘But my hamstring now feels good, I haven’t had a problem with it since. It was a little hiccup. I should have been back sooner than I was, then I felt a bit in my calf.

‘Last year was a season of massive learning for me. There were a couple of mistakes which led to goals, which is not new to me, but I hadn't done that for quite a while.

‘Now I’m looking forward to the season. I’m in a lot better shape and feel far more prepared.’

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