'I'm not an emotional person, but I had a tear. I love Portsmouth': Blues hero Sean Raggett on promotion at last

Sean Raggett toasted Pompey promotion at last and admitted: I love this football club.

Fratton Park’s longest-serving player had suffered four seasons of heartbreak and agonising near misses as the Championship continued to elude the Blues.

However, it was a case of fifth-time lucky for the towering central defender, who marked his 238 Pompey outing with the League One title against Barnsley.

Even the usually-phlegmatic Raggett allowed himself a tear when the promotion he had long craved arrived at last amid emotional scenes after the final whistle.

And in terms of life achievements, only the February 2023 birth of daughter Roma eclipses that title-winning feeling.

He told The News: ‘When I first signed on loan from Norwich five years ago, I said promotion was my aim.

‘It’s a massive club and deserves to get into the Championship at the minimum. I never lost belief. If I lost belief, I would have left at different periods of my time here. I always believed and fell in love with the club very early on. 

‘We just had to get promoted, I couldn’t really live with it if I ever left here before getting back into the Championship.

‘That could be taken out of my hands, of course, but fortunately it hasn’t been and we’ve finally done it.

‘I was out of contract in the summer of 2022 and you always have different opportunities, but I didn’t really entertain any of them. That summer I was one of the first to sign because I love this football club, I love playing here and the aim was to get promoted.

‘We hadn’t achieved that just yet, so of course I wanted to stay.

‘I’m not very emotional, but Tuesday night was emotional. Spending time on the pitch there with the fans at the end, I had a tear in my eye for sure.

‘One of the best moments I have ever experienced in my life for sure, only behind the birth of my daughter last year.

‘I’ve been fortunate to have some good moments, but that feeling at the final whistle was top class. When you win promotions it’s always fantastic, but at a club so well supported and passionate it takes it up another level.’

For Raggett, who is among 14 players out of contract at the season’s end, this represents his third career promotion, following previous joy with Dover and Lincoln.

And he was delighted that his trusty central-defensive partner Conor Shaughnessy grabbed the decisive winner.

He added: ‘What a fantastic moment for Shocks, that will stay with him forever, and he deserves it, he has been absolutely fantastic.

‘It almost felt like I had scored the goal. From my previous experience of scoring big goals, I got that same feeling, it was unbelievable. We had finally done it.

‘When the final whistle went, I was as far away from the dug-out as you could get, so it took me a while to get back. Everyone was great, singing my name.

‘The fans were asking for my shirt and I have given away a few in my time, but unfortunately this one is staying with me!’