'Frustrating that it went that way' - former Charlton and Bradford defender keen to put 18 months at Portsmouth behind him
Former Pompey defender Tom McIntyre has been speaking following his Pompey exit and subsequent move to Aberdeen last week.
Tom McIntyre is looking forward to putting his Pompey frustrations behind him.
The former Blues defender, who saw his Fratton Park contract mutually terminated on the final day of the January transfer window, is looking forward to progressing his career away from the south coast after an 18-month spell that resulted in just 14 appearances.
And he believes he’s in the best possible place to achieve that goal, with Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen snapping up the centre-back immediately after his Pompey exit.
McIntyre answers Aberdeen’s defensive SOS
McIntyre has signed a short-term deal until the end of the season with the Pittodrie outfit after he answered their defensive SOS call.
Interim manager Peter Leven currently has a shortage of centre-halves, with injuries or suspension keeping Kristers Tobers, Gavin Molloy (both knee), Matts Knoester (head injury) and Jack Milne (ban) on the sidelines.
The former Reading favourite was expected to start both of Aberdeen’s games against Celtic and Motherwell last week, only for both to be called off because of waterlogged pitches.
The 27-year-old could make his Dons debut on Wednesday night, when the Dons travel to Dundee United in the league. And if he does, the circumstances will be similar to when he came to Pompey’s rescue last season, stepping into the breach after eight months out with a broken leg while John Mousinho’s centre-back options were decimated by injury.
That handed McIntyre the opportunity to kickstart a Fratton Park career that had stalled following his injury on debut against Northampton in February 2024. Yet is also marked the end of his PO4 stay, with the defender dropped after a run of 10 straight games without a win and being handed only three more appearances before being moved to Charlton for the rest of the season.
The former Scotland under-21 international was also shown the door temporarily in the summer to facilitate a loan move to Bradford.
Now, with his fifth club (permanent or loan) in two years, the cente-back is delighted to have the opportunity to put his Pompey woes behind him.
McIntyre: ‘It’s frustrating that it went that way’
Speaking to the Press & Journal following his move north of the border, McIntyre said: ‘(After his Pompey debut) I was injured from probably the start of February until the middle of September.
‘And then I was thrown straight in at a time when the team hadn’t picked up a win at the time – and it was probably five or six games into the season.
‘Coupled with the fact that I was probably not fit and I played sort of like 10 games back-to-back, when I look back, it’s frustrating that it went that way.
‘I’d have liked it to have gone different, obviously, but that is just life, isn’t it? It doesn’t always go the way you want it to go.
‘But I’m looking to really push on now and put that sort of chapter behind me.’
Why Aberdeen for Tom McIntyre
McIntyre said he could have easily joined another EFL side following his Pompey departure. However, when Aberdeen came calling, he said a move to Pittodrie was ‘a no-brainer’.
He added: ‘They (Dons sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel and Leven) didn’t need to pitch an awful lot to me. When a club like Aberdeen comes calling, that says it all really.
‘But I spoke to Lutz and the gaffer on the phone and they sounded really keen to get me in, which was nice. They said they’ve had a few injuries and a few things going on and we’re a bit short at centre-half.
‘So the opportunity to come up, and that’s where opportunities come from, isn’t it really?
‘It was great. They were very open with me on the phone. It was all a bit rushed, to be honest, but that was just the nature of it. That was the timeline of stuff that took place.’
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