Pompey's Pack 'just gets it' - Moon

When you drop out of the Championship at the age of 31, the chances are that you will probably not return to that level of football.

But Marlon Pack is not your average player and certainly not your average character.

Leading Portsmouth to the League One title was not enough to guarantee a return for the midfielder to the second tier.

Pack’s original two-year contract expired this summer and as was seen with the likes of Joe Rafferty and Sean Raggett there is a ruthlessness to how Pompey operate.

But giving the 33-year-old a new deal feels like a no-brainer.

For all the importance of Pack’s qualities as a leader, he won the majority of the club’s player-of-the-year awards, he was one of the best players at Fratton Park last season.

His return two years ago was not always a sure thing. Derby County were very keen to sign him as a free agent in 2022, but before they were able to get their financial problems sorted Pompey were able to strike with a deal that famously included a number of season tickets for friends and family.

Pack of course used to have one of those himself.

He was raised in Buckland, on the west of Portsea Island, and was part of the Pompey youth team in a golden era when the club were a Premier League force with a number of England internationals in the ranks.

It is why lifting the League One trophy and helping Portsmouth back to the Championship after 12 years means so much to him.

Pack gets the best out of himself

Speak to anyone who worked with Marlon as a youngster and the phrase they use is he “got it”.

By that they mean even from a young age he understood the hard work and total dedication needed to be a professional footballer and to get the best out of his ability.

It sounds simple but how many of us can really claim they “got” anything as a young teenager, just being good at football is not enough.

Had he been a few years older he might have got a Premier League appearance in the famous Blue shirt as his debut came shortly after relegation to the Championship.

However, his first spell of first-team experience had already come on loan at Wycombe Wanderers in the same team as a certain John Mousinho.

Mousinho said even back then you could see Pack’s leadership qualities and he has been an excellent captain who has dovetailed well with his head coach.

The Pompey boss describes him as his coach on the pitch and it is common to see Pack coming over to Mousinho on the sideline to make some observations.

The relationship between the two has been hugely beneficial to Pompey.

Mousinho’s willingness to listen is a key strength and he implicitly trusts Pack - compare that to previous manager-captain relationships in PO4 and it is very different.

Former manager Kenny Jackett and ex-skipper Brett Pitman did not seem to get on that well at the start of their relationship and things deteriorated from there.

Football not Pack's only strength

Marlon is not just good at football, He is an outstanding all-round sportsperson.

The best on the dart board at the training ground, a single-figure golf handicap, and do not play him at table tennis, I learnt that the hard way.

I was about as successful as I would be if I tried to play in midfield against him.

He has that driven personality that means he is likely to be successful in anything he turns his mind to.

I know there are businesses out there who look to go and recruit ex-sportspeople, Pack is exactly the kind of person they would be seeking out.

Mousinho though has predicted he could one day be manager of Portsmouth. Pack has the attributes that would make him a successful coach but for now the focus is very much on playing.

Portsmouth fought incredibly hard to reach the Championship, it is important they now manage to stay there.