Why Jacobs is welcoming pre-season

IT’s third time lucky for Michael Jacobs, who finally finds himself participating in Pompey pre-season training.

This may be his third campaign at Fratton Park, yet it’s a curious statistic that the popular attacker was unable to fully feature during the previous two summers.

As a consequence, he believes it impacted upon his Blues fitness during the ensuing campaigns.

Firstly, a contract wrangle at a Wigan side relegated from the Championship hampered his search for a new club in the summer of 2021.

Jacobs finally arrived at Fratton Park on a two-year deal in September 2021, long after pre-season had ended.

Last summer, recovery from medial knee ligaments sidelined him for the bulk of work ahead of the 2021-22 campaign.

Now, fresh from signing a new Fratton Park deal, he’s at last revelling in a Pompey preseason.

Jacobs told The News: ‘The fact I signed for Pompey after the first league game of my first season here probably didn’t help.

‘While last year I came back from injury in pre-season, so was a couple of weeks behind the squad in terms of playing.

‘This season I’ll be starting from the off and doing it all, which should hopefully help me.’

Jacobs featured for 12 minutes of Pompey’s opening seven pre-season fixtures last summer, before handed a start in their final match against Bournemouth under21s.

He went on to make 32 appearances and net seven times as Cowley’s men finished 10th.

The 30-year-old added: ‘Hopefully this year will stand me in better stead going forward.

‘‘Hopefully I’ll be all right and there won’t be any problems.’