'Don't think they have that' - 43-goal former Portsmouth favourite dismisses owner Michael Eisner's ambitions for club

Former Pompey favourite Yakubu has dismissed Michael Eisner’s ambitions of seeing the Blues return to the Premier League.

The one-time striker, who helped Harry Redknapp’s side clinch promotion to the top flight via the old First Division title in 2002-03, is of the opinion that only a certain level of investment in the Fratton Park playing squad will see them head back to the top table of English football for the first time since 2010.

And that leads him to believe that billionaire Eisner - and his Tornante company that owns the club - are not the right custodians to take Pompey to the next level as the Blues sit in the Championship relegation zone.

Yakubu - you have to invest

Yakubu’s verdict comes after the Blues chairman reiterated his ambitions for the PO4 club in a recorded video message to a meeting of the Portsmouth Supporters’ Trust last month.

In that 12-minute address, the 83-year-old insisted the Premier League remains a goal of Pompey’s, irrespective of their current difficulties.

Yet, Yakubu believes that’s unrealistic while the Blues continue to operate with one of the lowest playing budgets in the division.

The former Nigeria striker - who joined Middlesbrough from Pompey for £7.5m in 2005 following 36 goals in two Premiership seasons - told Sportscasting: ‘It would be nice to see them (the fans, again) because they are unbelievable.

‘It is a nice city, it’s not a big stadium, but they love football.

‘They’ve been suffering. They’ve been suffering for over 10 years now. So they need to work so hard.

‘And then the investment… when you try to get promoted to the Premier League, you have to invest. I don’t think they have that investor who can put in that money for them to take you to the next level.

‘But at this point they’ve been doing alright. And I hope that we get a chance to play in the Premier League again.’

What Michael Eisner said to Portsmouth Supporters’ Trust

A return to the Premier League seems a long way off given Pompey’s current position of 22nd in the Championship table and a current run of form that has seen John Mousinho’s side win just one of their past 10 games.

At this moment, avoiding relegation back to League One will be the immediate priority.

Eisner was relaxed about that threat in his latest communication with fans, though, as he continues to set his goals high.

Speaking to the trust, he said: ‘We are always asked about our ambition - about Tornante’s ambition - and we’ve had the same ambition we’ve had since 2017. We want to get into the Premier League.

‘We have patience, we had patience getting from League One to the Championship, we are now in the Championship, and that (the Premier League) is our goal.’

He added: ‘I still believe in the strategy of getting good players and advancing your team, but also saleable, which is a way to make up for the losses which will happen for us.

‘As Eric (Eisner, club director) said last year, we do not want to be a yo-yo club, we do not want to go back down to League One, we want to go up the ladder, we want to be financially intelligent.

‘We are as enthusiastic as always, all three of my sons and (wife) Jayne are enthusiastic, we just have to figure out the finances, and get the parliament law completed (Independent Football Regulator) and we have to not be relegated.

‘I am always optimistic. For the last time, we are not being relegated - trust me.’

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