Supporterintervjuet: Før Wigan (H)

Før sesongens siste hjemmekamp, har vi hatt en prat med Sam Manton (t.h.). En av flere medlemmer som er på plass på Fratton Park på lørdag.

SUPPORTERINTERVJUET: Da har vi kommet fram til serierunde 45 og hjemmekampen mot Wigan – sesongens siste hjemmekamp. Opprykket er sikret og League One er vunnet. Nå handler det om å sørge for at det blir fest både på og utenfor banen lørdag. Sam Manton, vår medlem nummer 92, er selv på plass i Portsmouth denne helga. Her er Sams tanker før Wigan-kampen:

Hva var dine tanker og forventninger til denne sesongen?

– I think I expected we’d get to the playoffs but I was always hoping for the autos after our previous playoff record. Exceeded all expectations this season and we’ve been brilliant.

Hvilke lag tror du rykker opp fra League One sammen med Pompey denne sesongen?

– Derby and Peterborough. I think Bolton will screw it up.

Hva synes du om Pompeys sesong?

– The last 2 have been very disappointing, but I think we have really proved after 7 years how we deserve to be in the championship.

It’s been an incredible season. This team has been such a unit together, like the boys of the league 2 promotion team. I don’t think any other team could argue with our league position. Every team has a wobble, and we never dropped our position when things got difficult at Christmas. I think this team will adapt well to the championship.

Har du planer om å få til en tur over for å se Pompey i nær framtid?

– Haha very soon, as your reading this I’m in Pompey ready for our match against Wigan. I’m very excited to meet the other Scandinavian Pompey lads! Looking forward to a few more games next season!

Hvordan holder du deg oppdatert på Pompey (kamper og nyheter)?

– Twitter and Pompey News mostly. Not hard to keep up with most things Pompey!

Har du noen favorittspillere i dagens Pompey-spillerstall?

– This season was the hardest player of the season, I’d say Marlon Pack, Will Norris have been a few favourites. But I’m so excited to see more of Yengi in the future, he’s so electric and exciting to watch and is going to be a real star for us.

Hva er dine tanker om John Mousinho og hans trenerteam?

– I must admit I wasn’t super impressed when we signed him. It was a risk I thought but I’m very happy to have been proven wrong, he’s done so well. I love it when you see a manager who just ‘gets’ Pompey. I hope we can hold onto him for as long as possible.

Nå er det Wigan på hjemmebane. Hva er dine tanker om denne kampen, hva er din startellever og hvordan tror du kampen ender?

– We have so much strength in depth, would love to see the whole squad get a go for the rest of the matches, it’s been a full team effort. The last match I saw against Wigan was a memorable one against Paul Cook’s team after he left Pompey. A nice touch to see him getting promoted again with Chesterfield this year as well as Pompey.

Selv om vi har ei nettside med stor aktivitet og alt som skrives der deles i sosiale medier, har det vært veldig liten aktivitet hos våre medlemmer de siste årene. Hva er dine tanker om det og hva kan gjøres for å få mer aktivitet og samhandling hos våre medlemmer?

– I’ve spoken to a number of the supports in our supporters club. For me it’s great to still have that connection after moving to Norway. I love my club and it’s great to still have that buzz in Norway. I would love to potentially organise some meets for a match and some beers to watch the blues. Norway is a big country and this doesn’t always work. Or even better arrange more trips to head over to home matches as a supporters club.

Har du ellers noe du vil si til resten av de skandinaviske Pompey-supporterne?

– I’ve written this in English after we’ve just won the league, and I couldn’t quite put it into words in Norwegian. But I’m always happy to meet and talk to any Pompey fans, or be a little Norwegian and just nod and say hi .. either way I look forward to meeting you all, and as always, Play Up Pompey!