Portsmouth Defender Regan Poole Acknowledges Performance Decline

Portsmouth defender Regan Poole has acknowledged a decline in his performance, marking the first such instance in a considerable period of his career. The 26-year-old player was out of action for over 10 months because of a knee injury, making his return to play in September. “It’s been tough for me personally, I’ve made quite a few mistakes that have led to goals which is not nice,” Poole stated in an interview with BBC Radio Solent. He further commented, “It’s frustrating and plays on my mind, of course, but it’s football, it’s how you bounce back.” The former Lincoln City centre-back has played in 10 consecutive matches for Pompey since regaining full fitness. “Obviously I came back at Burnley – it was adrenaline mostly and it’s been quite frustrating since then,” he remarked. “I wanted to take off where I left off but that hasn’t been the case at all.” Poole added, “It’s nice that the gaffer knows what I’m going through, he would have loved to have played me a little bit less and the big thing for me was getting to this international break feeling fit with no niggles.”