The role ex-Leicester City, Birmingham City and Charlton Athletic man wants to maintain at Portsmouth after guiding city's young gems at Reading

And Pompey’s new defender is hopeful he can say he played some small part in careers which continue to develop and thrive.

John Swift and Andy Rinomhota never got to wear the star and crescent on their chests, as their careers took very different pathways.

Gosport-lad Swift was picked up by Chelsea and seen as one of the game’s bright, young things – moving on to Reading and then West Brom this summer, with his stock firmly on the rise.

Meanwhile, local non-league outfit AFC Portchester was home to Rinomhota from the age of six, until he was picked up by the Royals in 2018 after being overlooked by Pompey.

He also moved on recently joining Cardiff, but it was at the Madejski Stadium the pair worked with Blues new boy Michael Morrison.

With Morrison now firmly in the mould of senior figure at the age of 34, he felt well placed to help with the duo’s progress.

And that’s a role he’s keen to continue with Pompey’s emerging talent.

He said: ‘There was John Swift at Reading.

‘He sent me a text and told me it’s a great city to play at.

‘What a player he is, I’ve been privileged to play with some very good players

‘He’s definitely right up there with the very best, though.

‘He’s a Portsmouth lad and will be very good for West Brom.

‘Andy Rinomhota is another from Portsmouth who’s gone over to Cardiff, a good lad.

‘He was playing non league and he’s a real athlete who’s done well for himself.

‘I enjoy helping players.

‘When you are a senior player you want to give back and help.

‘I had some good influences like Chris Powell, Matthew Oakley, Steve Howard and Paul Robinson.

‘When you get older you can look after other people better, you are able to be a bit more selfless and help others as much as possible.’

Swift was able to give Morrison some encouragement about his Pomey move, which was completed last month after his summer Reading exit.

And there were others the former Sheffield Wednesday, Leicester, Charlton and Birmingham man was able to lean on when assessing whether to make the move.

Morrison added: ‘In terms of management staff I knew (Simon) Bassey, I did my A licence with him so he was someone I knew.

‘There was that connection and there was also Andy King, who knew the guys and worked with them at Huddersfield.

‘He spoke very highly of them and their work.

‘In terms of the football club, I didn’t need to ask anyone because I already knew all about it.

‘It all made for an easy and exciting decision to make.’