Cardiff's Marlon Pack has 'unfinished business' at Portsmouth - and wants a future reunion

And the 29-year-old revealed he briefly trained with the Blues in the summer of 2013, but circumstances prevented a reunion.

The Cardiff City midfielder is poised for the resumption of the Championship season, marking his fifth consecutive campaign at that level.

However, Pack still contemplates linking up with Pompey once again before his career ends.

The Buckland lad was released by Steve Cotterill in the summer of 2011, going on to play regularly for Cheltenham, Bristol City and now Cardiff.

Yet Fratton Park continues to call.

He told The News: ‘There’s always a part of me that says there is unfinished business there.

‘It’s my home town and I didn’t get the opportunity that maybe I felt I deserved, but I suppose some things are better left untouched.

‘Having that said, it would be hard to turn down an opportunity to come back at some stage of my career.

‘I am 29 and still have two years left on my deal at Cardiff, which is a great club, such a massive club.

‘I still keep my eye on Pompey, hopefully the club can get into the Championship again in the near future – and I can return to Fratton Park as an opposition player.

‘Since leaving I’ve played them once, in a July 2016 friendly for Bristol City. It would be great to return and play at Fratton Park again.’

After spending two seasons with Cheltenham, an out-of-contract Pack did return to train with Pompey in July 2013.

At the time, his former Blues development coach, Guy Whittingham, had recently been appointed manager following the club’s emergence from administration.

However, an agreement didn’t prove possible.

Pack added: ‘My two-year contract was up at Cheltenham, so they offered me a new deal, but I didn’t want to sign.

‘Pompey had just got relegated to League Two and I trained a couple of times under Guy at Farlington, just for fitness.

‘I did speak to Guy and Steve Allen and they said they would have taken me. However, I wanted to go higher up the leagues.

‘Besides, I couldn't anyway because there was a compensation fee due to Cheltenham as I was under 24. Pompey couldn’t afford it, so it wouldn’t have been possible.

‘I didn’t have concrete offers at that stage, but my main reason for not signing a new deal was to further my career and player higher.

‘It would have been a bit of a contradiction for me to turn Cheltenham down and then sign for another League Two club.

‘As it was, Sean O’Driscoll had me on trial at League One Bristol City for a week and I played a pre-season friendly against a Bournemouth side which included Matty Ritchie.

‘I ended up signing a two-year deal on the Friday before the first game of the 2013-14 season.’

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