'I know I can play': Portsmouth outcast opens up about Fratton frustration after Bradford career rejuvenation
Tom McIntyre has started the last two matches for League One promotion challengers Bradford
Rejuvenated Tom McIntyre has spoken of his ‘frustrating 18 months’ with Pompey as he thrives back in regular first-team football.
The central defender is part of a Bradford side presently sitting second in League One as they bid for successive promotions under Graham Alexander.
With Curtis Tilt and Aden Baldwin injured, McIntyre has stepped into the Bantams' back three to start the last two matches, with four appearances overall.
The West Yorkshire club offered a career lifeline through a season-long loan on transfer deadline day, with the 26-year-old not having been handed a Pompey squad number.
Now the former Reading man, who has no Fratton Park future, is enjoying an excellent start to his Valley Parade stay.
‘I wanted to get out’
‘When Bradford popped up, I was so thankful that they did. It was a great opportunity for me to progress my career and I couldn’t have come to a better club to do that.
‘I really want to show people what I can do and how good I am as a player. Various things happened (at Pompey) and things get said and sometimes, you are a bit unsure.
‘But it became clear to me as pre-season went on that I needed to go out on loan. I am in the last year of my deal at Portsmouth and needed to play and that’s why I wanted to get out.
‘As much as I want to progress my career personally, I want to help Bradford. I am in a team and squad now where the club were promoted last year and it is their first time in League One for a long time and I really want to make this as successful as I can.
‘There’s definitely a positive vibe around the place and so there should be. It does help you settle in and when I came in, it felt great to be a part of a team on the front foot.’
Broke his ankle on Portsmouth debut
Recruited from Reading in January 2024, McIntyre was supposed to bolster league leaders Pompey’s push for the Championship.
However, just 54 minutes into his debut, he suffered a broken ankle in an incident which also saw the defender dismissed - only to be rescinded upon appeal.
Ruled out for the remainder of the season, he then sustained a hamstring tear while appearing as a substitute in the Blues’ penultimate pre-season friendly against Wycombe in the summer of 2025.
McIntyre ended the 2024-25 season on loan at Charlton, where he failed to make their squad for a triumphant play-off campaign which saw Nathan Jones’ side promoted to the Championship at Wembley.
Certainly it has been a hugely frustrating period since leaving hometown club Reading, whose crippling financial issues under former owner Dai Yongge drove his move to Fratton Park.
McIntyre: Reading wasn’t an environment where I could grow as a player
He added: ‘The back end of my few years at Reading were so frustrating. I am sure everyone knows about the troubles the club went through.
‘To be part of that, it wasn’t an environment where I thought I could grow as a player.
‘I think everything that was happening at the club at the time was bashing you back down and not allowing you to show how good we were. It was just an uphill battle all the time.
‘Like getting points deductions, we had them for three or four seasons. I think there was a stat that no club had taken more points off Reading than the owner in that period, which is just a shambles really.
‘I am coming into a really positive environment now and that was the polar opposite in a sense. I am still a Reading fan and am delighted they are back on track.’