‘Frustrating’ finish Pack to ‘sound out’
A MIGHTILY impressive haul of almost 600 career appearances for a 31-year-old is not without its frustrations for Marlon Pack.
Certainly a return of 564 games and 34 goals, largely in the Championship, reflects a talented and consistent performer who has avoided injury and form lapses.
Nonetheless, since February he was exiled from Cardiff ’s first-team squad by newly-appointed boss Steve Morison.
For the first time in Pack’s career, he found himself sidelined – and an agonising six outings short of 500 Football League matches.
He was overlooked for the final 18 fixtures of a campaign which saw the Bluebirds finish 18th and signal the midfielder’s departure.
Nowhehasatwo-yearFratton Park deal and new lease of life – with appearance landmarks back on the horizon.
Pack told The News: ‘At one point last season I was on the verge of breaking 500 league games and closing in on 600 overall – that’s what annoyed me the most.
‘At Cardiff, we weren’t doing as well as a team but I thought individually I was doing all right.
‘I think I give quite an honest assessment of myself and my performances, probably I’m actually more harsh than I need to be at times.
‘But we were struggling, the manager changed the team, mixed it around a bit and was trying to tinker for a winning formula. I was out of the team, the lads went on a good run and from there he found his side.
‘It hasn’t happened to me before. I’ve had a good run in the sense of being a mainstay in the team, but it is what it is, you’ve got to learn from it.
‘Steve Morison’s a young
manager who wanted to bring in young players, phasing all the experienced players out. I was on the bench for a bit, but in the end didn’t make the squad.
‘Previously I hadn’t made a squad once or twice in my career, so it was frustrating, really frustrating, so I kind of wanted the season to end.
‘You are training every day without that carrot on a Saturday, without that competitive edge, which most athletes crave.
‘I’m pretty robust. I’ve had one injury in my career, which I did at Cardiff. It was a grade three hamstring, which is a freak one considering how I play, but even then I was back after six weeks.
‘In all fairness, how it finished at Cardiff allowed the heads up for me and my agent to sound out teams quite early on – like Pompey.’
Pack totalled 26 games and one goal last season.
That’s well below a career average of 48.64 matches in the previous 11 campaigns, serving Cheltenham, Bristol City and his opening two Bluebirds seasons.
He added: ‘I’m looking to play every game this year and next for Pompey, at least 70 matches.
‘Theunfortunatethingfor players at my age (31) is there’s astigma.Everyonewantslegs andathleticplayers,whileyou are also seen as a commodity, so there’s a value.
‘I would imagine a lot of ownerships now or people in charge of running clubs want to buy players they can sell on, that’s just the way football has gone generally.
‘It’s a tough market and needs the right person to bring in experienced players, especially if you are a younger coach.’