'I feel I could have' - Released former Pompey midfielder reveals what makes Fratton Park exit tougher to take
Joe Morrell believes he had something to offer Pompey in the Championship this season.
The midfielder is adamant his contribution - both on and off the pitch - would have been invaluable to the Blues had they taken up the option of extending his Fratton Park stay in the summer.
Speaking on the BBC’s Feast of Football podcast, the now free agent said he holds no grudges against the club for declining a 12-month option they had on his previous deal.
The 27-year-old remains a fixture at the club’s Hilsea training base as he continues his rehab from the knee injury he suffered against Oxford United in January and has accepted the reasons why a new contract offer was never forthcoming.
But as he closes in on a return to action, the Wales international maintains he could have played an important role for Pompey in what is looking like a battle for survival in the second tier.
Adding that he would have loved to have remained with the Blues, Morrell said: ‘In an ideal world that would have been great. I would have loved nothing better than to stay at Pompey this year and hopefully help them in the Championship.
‘But I also appreciate that they’ve got difficult decisions to make and they’ve got a budget which is not a massive budget for a Championship club. They know they have to spend that as wisely as they can and get the maximum value from that.
‘I’ve been in football long enough to know that is the case and one day I might be in a position to have to make a decision like that.
‘Like I said, in an ideal world, it would have been great (to stay). I wouldn’t have wanted them to give me a contract just because I got injured, I would have felt a little bit uncomfortable about that. But at the same time, I do feel like I contributed enough last year and, more importantly, I feel that I could have contributed this year.’
He added: ‘I’m not a million miles away from playing and I feel like I could have added value to that squad this year - both on and off the pitch.’
Morrell featured 105 times for the Blues after arriving from Luton for an undisclosed fee in the summer of 2021.
Thirty-one of those appearances came last season, before a piece of broken cartilage in his left knee prevented the midfielder from playing his part as Pompey closed in on the League One title.
Since then the Blues turned to the likes of Andre Dozzell, Abdoulaye Kamara and Freddie Potts to bolster their midfield options for the current Championship campaign. And while questions continue to be asked of Pompey’s engine-room quality, Morrell said he was now looking forward to a new challenge elsewhere - potentially abroad.
The former Fratton favourite revealed: ‘There are clubs who have called up and said “we need him for the weekend” and my agent has said “he is still a way from that”. I need a block of training and maybe a few reserve games,”
‘I have spoken to clubs here, some abroad. There are some clubs I have spoken to who start pre-season in January, a few clubs in Asia or the MLS potentially, which from a physical perspective would be good.
‘I still feel like I have got unfinished business here (in English football), but if something like that came up and was really interesting, I would definitely be open to it.’