Music to his ears: Portsmouth's newest Super Matt thanks Fratton faithful for touching terrace tribute
In those Premier League days, he was part of the Fratton faithful delivering regular renditions of ‘Super Matty Taylor’.
How poignant then that Matt Ritchie has now inherited the popular terrace chant - and is understandably loving it.
The veteran’s second-half double against Middlesbrough - his first-ever Pompey goals at Fratton Park - inspired John Mousinho’s men to a 2-1 success on Saturday.
Unsurprisingly, the 35-year-old was man of the match, with ‘Super Matty Ritchie’ reverberating around Fratton Park amid the Blues’ fifth home triumph in six matches.
And with another former Pompey team-mate David James also present in the directors’ box, it was a special day for the Gosport lad.
Ritchie told The News: ‘Back in the day, I would have been on the terraces singing “Super Matty Taylor”, so it was very nice.
‘Matty was a huge inspiration of mine, I still speak to him now. At Pompey I was a kid and he gave me his time. I played against him when he was at West Ham and have always stayed in touch with him, he’s a really good guy,
‘Him, Gary O’Neil, Richard Hughes, they were massive influences on me as a kid, great examples, and are all still doing really well in the game today. I was really lucky to be in an environment with those sorts of people.
‘Jamo was there on Saturday I believe. The time I was here as a kid, there were some amazing people, I had a really good grounding.
‘Shaun North is still around and it has been great to reconnect with him. He played a huge part in my youth and key fundamentals. I am really grateful to everyone.’
He progressed into a £12m player, spent many seasons in the Premier League, represented Scotland and is now back where it all began.
And the midfielder insists he has absolutely no intention of slowing down.
He added: ‘I couldn’t have asked for any more from my career, blood out of a stone if you like. It’s true, I’m a realist.
‘I’ve loved my career, the challenges, the ups and downs, the emotions. It has been a lot of sacrifice and hard work, for anyone that’s successful that’s what it takes and I’ve loved every minute of it.
‘It has been amazing, but I’m certainly not done yet. I feel as good as ever, I feel as fit as ever, I’ve looked after myself, I have sacrificed many things a footballer should sacrifice to be the best he can possibly be.
‘I feel as good as ever at 35 - so long may that continue.’