Whatmough heads for Championship holding slight Pompey regret
JACK WHATMOUGH has relived his pain at failing to deliver second-tier football with Pompey after becoming a Championship player.
And the Gosport lad has thanked those with PO4 ties who played their part in helping him make the strides, which will finally see him operating one step from the Premier League.
Whatmough has picked up a host of accolades after playing a central role in helping Wigan to the League One title, in an ever-present league campaign for the Latics.
It comes after leaving the club he ended a 13-year association with the Blues last summer, to make the move to the north west.
Whatmough won the League Two title at Fratton Park in 2017, but he admitted not being able to take the next step with Pompey was a regret. Speaking to EFL Magazine, he said: ‘Being a local lad, I took a lot of personal responsibility for the inability to get promoted when we had such a good opportunity to do so.
‘Three and a half years ago, Portsmouth were clear at the top in January and then slid into the play-offs.
‘I was desperate to help them get promoted, but it wasn’t meant to be.
‘Now, I’m just looking forward to testing myself in the Championship for the first time with Wigan.
‘It was tough to make that decision to leave, but at some point, in any job you do, sometimes you just get to that stage where you need something new and I felt I was at that point.
I’ll always be grateful to Portsmouth for giving me that opportunity in football. There were a lot of good people in the club who wanted to help.
‘Andy Awford gave me my debut at 17 in his first game as caretaker manager against Southend. I remember him telling me to bring all my family down because I’d be making my debut.
‘Originally, I said I needed three tickets, but Andy called my mum and it ended up being about 13 people coming along.
‘He was incredible – he just knew when to give you a compliment and when to bring you back down to earth.
‘Then there was Jon Slater (head of education). As a second-year scholar, he would take the time to sit with me on a Thursday afternoon after training to help me stay on track.’