Marlon Pack at Portsmouth FC's celebration party on Southsea Common

The News, Portsmouth

Skipper Marlon Pack looks back at a fantastic season Pompey's celebrations

Transcript

00:00You've kind of all said it all on the stage there really, but thinking back all those

00:06years ago to when you left the club the first time, did you ever think for a second that

00:10you'd be here today and celebrating this?

00:12Honestly no, like I said out there, I've been behind the barrier, I've celebrated, and I

00:17always get emotional on stage because it's like when you actually see it all, and I generally

00:22and I'll be completely honest when I've said this, I didn't know how much the club meant

00:25to me, because I'd been away for so long and I focused on myself and forging a career

00:31for Marlon Pack, even though you've supported a club since birth really, you have no choice

00:38right, being born in Portsmouth, you have no choice but support in Portsmouth and that's

00:42why we're so unique as a football club, so I forgot how much it meant to me, and it was

00:46only until when I came back I kind of remade my debut, and obviously this year, I don't

00:52want to be at ball, but it generally hasn't sunk in yet.

00:55Games like this help, but it'd be one where you look back and go wow, you've actually

01:00achieved that, you're born and bred from Portsmouth, you've been a season ticket holder, you've

01:04played for the club since the age of seven, and you've come back after having a decent

01:09career ban in the Championship and you're captain of the club to winning the league.

01:14Like I said, I'll have people in that crowd that I'll know, that I'll cross paths with,

01:18whether that's playing football or growing up with or going to school with, so yeah.

01:23Do you know what's more pleasing for me is the fact that it's relatable, it's achievable,

01:28you know what I mean, without getting too deep, you can be from Portsmouth, you can

01:31grow up in Eminence and have a dream to play for Portsmouth and it's achievable for anyone

01:37out there.

01:38I was born in Buckingham in a council estate, so it just gives hope for everyone in Portsmouth

01:42I suppose.

01:43Absolutely.

01:44And having, as you say, you've been a season ticket holder and you've obviously been in

01:47parts of good atmospheres, but is it, even coming back and seeing it now, is it still

01:51a surprise to see it from the pitch and to see it the other side?

01:55No, it's more generally you just forget, as a footballer you get so focused and quite

02:02a single mindset to look after yourself and over the years of course I've looked out for

02:06Portsmouth's result, it's one of the first results I looked out for, but actually living

02:10it and breathing it, not only as a player but as a captain and to lead this group of

02:14players is, it will be the proudest, it will genuinely, listen I'm at that stage in my

02:20career, it will be the proudest moment of my career and yeah, look at that, genuinely.

02:27And yeah, not maybe we can win the championship next year, what's the plan for next year?

02:32You know what, I think as a group we just owe ourselves to enjoy this moment, these

02:37don't come around too often, I'm 33, this is my second promotion, I've played over 600

02:42games, some of the lads, it might be the only time they get promoted, so the message to

02:47the group is enjoy it, soak it up, embrace it, live off everything, milk it, whatever

02:52you do because we go through the meal as footballers, there's a lot of down moments, everything

03:00we do throughout the week is geared up to Saturday and when you don't win it can be

03:04very detrimental to yourself and your personal health and also your family as well because

03:10they always take the brunt of it, so just enjoy this moment, next season is just a fantastic

03:16opportunity for us as a football club to really establish ourselves with some really,

03:21really big teams in the championship and I think rightfully we deserve to be there

03:26and it's obviously for everyone else to do their job but for us to be competitive in

03:32the championship.

03:33Last question before we leave, look at that, Barnsley was obviously going to be a huge

03:38highlight but were there any games throughout the season where you thought, you know what,

03:41we're going to do this?

03:42I think Barnsley typifies us as a group, as a club, whatever you speak of it in a Portsmouth

03:47way, we weren't our best, we went down, we went behind twice to come back and score in

03:52a manner 83rd, 89th minute, I think first of all that's testament to the group because

03:57that's everything we've tried to build on this year, we talk about a good team spirit

04:01and togetherness, what does that look like, well you've seen it I think on numerous occasions

04:04where we've come from behind or we've scored in last minute winners or last minute equalisers

04:11so obviously that stands out for that reason, do you know what I think really goes under

04:15the radar is the first game of the season, Bristol Rovers at home, Yengi scored in the

04:21last minute near enough so it kept that unbeaten run from last season and it continued that

04:27momentum, you know it's like we're all guilty of it as fans and players where you lose the

04:32first game, it's like the be all and end all when really it's a stretch of a 45 game season

04:37so that one stands out in significance in return in terms of just keeping that momentum

04:42and then you look at for me, Peter O'Way, 4,000 O'Way fans, bowling at home against

04:48I think just like you said even our record against the top six is unbelievable so really

04:52proud to lead this group of players, they're a testament to the football club and it's

04:56been a real honour all season.

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