'I can't help it!': Pompey warrior Regan Poole on love for defending - and celebrating tackles like goals
The centre-half has gone 46 games without scoring since netting at N
Celebrating tackles with the passion and gusto normally reserved for match-winning goals has become a popular trait with Regan Poole.
Largely through necessity having gone 46 matches without scoring, nonetheless the Welshman’s love for defending is obvious - and triumphantly punching the air following every vital block has become his catchphrase.
After netting four times in his opening 40 Pompey appearances, Poole subsequently hasn’t registered since grabbing the fifth in the remarkable 5-3 triumph at Norwich in April 2025.
Instead his moments of personal jubilation are normally glimpsed when hurling himself in front of Leicester’s Jannik Vestergaard’s shot or producing a goal-saving challenge.
And the 27-year-old, who has four goals in 86 appearances for the Blues, savours every non-scoring moment.
‘That’s me, I can’t really help it’
Poole told The News: ‘I am an out-and-out defender, I love defending, that’s me. I can’t help it really!
‘I would definitely like to score more goals rather than celebrating blocks, I had a few chances last season. That’s the way I am, though, I’m a passionate player and that’s what gets me going.
‘If I can stop the ball going into the net, I will do whatever I can to do that. If I’ve got to stick my head in the way, I will. I enjoy it.
‘I love blocking, for me it’s just like scoring a goal. Getting my body in the way, I will run and block as much as I can, that’s just me, I’m a heart on the sleeve kind of player.
‘The Leicester one (Jannik Vestergaard) was a big moment in the game, they had three at the back post, so it was a three-v-one and I had to do whatever I could to try to keep the ball out of the net. I just knew it was a big part of the game.
‘If they’d scored that, they would have had momentum going into the last 20 minutes. We just needed to do whatever we could to get over the line - and that was a big moment to do it, I was delighted.
‘Obviously in a moment like that there was a bit more celebration because of so much pressure on the game. The match was a bit slow, it wasn’t the greatest game anyway - but we won.’
Pompey’s joint-highest appearance maker in 2025-26
No player featured more for Pompey last season than Poole, with the defender and Colby Bishop both totalling 43 appearances.
That first-team regularity has demonstrated the former Manchester United is now over the injury issues which impacted his opening two seasons at Fratton Park after arriving in July 2023.
Poole’s consistent displays have also brought him to the attention of Wales once more, having previously represented his country once.
That first and, to date, last cap arrived in a friendly against Gibraltar in October 2023, when he started for the Dragons in a 4-0 success.
Wales dream alive
Now having been on stand-by for recent training camps, the Blues favourite is encouraged his international aspirations remain alive.
Poole added: ‘I have been on standby for the last 2-3 times, so I’m knocking on the door.
‘The name is on the list, it is in the mix, and it gives me encouragement. Of course I would be delighted to be named in the squad, but I’m not out of it completely. I’d like to get a few more caps before I retire, for sure!’
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