Former Portsmouth winger issues apology on first day with new club Reading
Paddy Lane’s two-and-a-half-year stay with Pompey came to a close on Thursday after completing a move to Reading.
Paddy Lane has issued an apology to his new club Reading just a day after sealing a move to the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
And the winger has opened up on his departure from Fratton Park after his two-and-a-half-year stay on the south coast came to an end on Thursday.
The 24-year-old completed a switch to the Royals for an undisclosed fee earlier in the week, penning a three-year deal with Noel Hunt’s men.
But one of his efforts for John Mousinho’s men has forced the forward to apologise following his over-exaggerated celebration when scoring against his new employers during the Blues’ 4-1 triumph in February 2024.
The Northern Ireland international has expressed a regret over his reaction when speaking to the Royals’ in-house media after his move from Fratton Park was confirmed.
Paddy Lane apologises on first day with new club
Lane said: Energy, passion, sometimes a bit too much. I’d like to apologise for the celebration when we played you all at Fratton Park a couple of years ago but I’ll hopefully be doing that soon. Just enjoy me, I want everyone to come to the games and enjoy themselves.’
Lane was in action just a day before he completed his move to Reading and scored in Pompey’s 4-0 win over Brighton under-21.
The winger has explained the pace in which a deal was sealed, having featured against the Royals in Saturday’s pre-season friendly at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
And the ex-Blues favourite has revealed two key Fratton Park figures who sealed the deal for the forward.
Paddy Lane explains Pompey departure and what sold Reading
‘When I heard Reading were interested I wanted to get it over the line as quick as possible because I wanted to be involved in as many games as possible for the club and help as much as I can for the challenge this season. I’m really excited for the game on Saturday and the rest of the season.
‘Things came to fruition really quick, we played a game on Wednesday against Brighton under-21s and it was a good workout for us.
‘This came around really fast, I’d heard about the interest and then it came to fruition. Once the option was there to get it done as quickly as I could then that’s all I wanted to do.
‘I wanted to get up in the car and see the facilities. I can’t wait to meet all the lads and get to work. Obviously we played you guys on Saturday. It was a pre-season game but I’ve seen some of the lads.
‘I’ve seen Mark (O’Mahony) who was up top and he couldn’t have spoken higher of the place. I know Tom McIntyre from my time at Pompey, the Reading fans will know about him, and he couldn’t have said a better word about the place.
‘I knew a lot of people coming here that just had great things to say about the place and the players and the staff and I can’t wait to get to work.’
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