Why Conor Shaughnessy ranks Portsmouth centre-half partner as his favourite ever
The defensive pairing have started all five of Pompey’s Championship matches so far
They’re the outstanding defensive double act who have provided the backbone to Pompey’s promising start to the season.
And Conor Shaughnessy is adamant Regan Poole ranks as his favourite centre-half partner of his playing career to date.
After a 21-month absence, the duo were reunited in the Blues starting XI for last month’s opening match against Oxford United.
Since then, they have registered three clean sheets in five Championship games and are unbeaten on their travels, most recently Sunday’s goalless draw in the south-coast derby.
Shaughnessy and Poole were originally paired as a centre-half double act two games into the 2023-24 campaign, remaining a fixture for 14 matches until Poole sustained a season-ended ACL injury at Chester in November 2023.
Now Shaughnessy is revelling in the long-awaited reunion which has propelled Pompey into ninth spot.
‘I love playing alongside him’
He told The News: ‘Regan has been brilliant this season, it’s obvious in every game he has played. I love playing alongside him, we have formed a good partnership.
‘In my career, he’s the centre-half partner I have enjoyed playing with the most. He’s a great player and I am sure he’ll get better.
‘We are different players, which helps, but the main thing is we both understand each others’ game. I know what he’s good at, he knows what I am good at. If he goes wrong, I’m there to cover him and vice versa he’s there to cover me. We know each others’ game very well.
‘As a defender, he is good at a lot of things. At West Brom he was making all sorts of blocks, he’s very difficult for strikers to get past, he puts his body on the line really well. The main thing is getting yourself in the way of the ball and the goal - and he does it brilliantly.
‘Regan’s a great one-v-one defender in and around the box. He is really good at moving his feet, he has a low centre of gravity, he can deal with the change of direction of the forward and get his body in the way. He’s excellent at that.
‘Obviously I played a lot with him previously at the start of the promotion season, but it’s great to finally get another run of games together. It has been too long between our last set of games until now.’
Poole sidelined by injury for 10 months
During Poole’s 10-month injury absence, Shaughnessy was paired with Sean Raggett, Tom McIntyre and Ryley Towler during the League One title-winning campaign.
Last season, though, the classy centre-half himself suffered persistent injury issues, limiting the former Leeds man to just nine outings, of which seven were starts.
When he was available, Shaughnessy was paired with Towler and loanee Rob Atkinson, ending the season alongside the latter as the Blues finished an eye-catching 16th in the Championship.
And, despite the returns to fitness of Hayden Matthews, Ibane Bowat and the signing of Josh Knight, the Shaughnessy/Poole axis has been ever-present in the league so far this term.
‘Getting to know your centre-half partner comes with time’
The Irishman added: ‘It’s that understanding with another player and just getting that run of games together.
‘I’ve had a lot of matches where I’ve chopped and changed partners quite a lot, so not having that consistent run has probably played a big part in that as well. Getting to know your centre-half partner comes with time.
‘I also had a very unfortunate time with injuries last season, which didn’t allow us to play together. Hopefully this is now the start, we have moved on from there, and long may this continue.’