Rob Atkinson unmoved in his Portsmouth mission as he addresses Bristol City future beyond Fratton Park
Rob Atkinson admits he has ‘absolutely no clue’ where his future lies beyond his Fratton Park loan.
But he’s adamant he wants to depart the south coast with Pompey having secured their Championship status.
The 26-year-old linked up with the Blues on loan in January as he sought regular first-team football following two years devastated by injury.
John Mousinho at the time conceded Pompey wouldn’t have been able to ‘get a fit Rob Atkinson’, with the centre-half destined for loftier climes in the Championship.
And, after making a remarkable comeback into the first XI on Saturday in the 2-2 draw with Derby following a calf injury, the former Oxford United man is determined to complete his mission.
He told The News: ‘I have absolutely no clue what the future holds, honestly, anything can happen, I can be anywhere.
‘I owe this club a lot and this club owes me absolutely nothing. It has been an absolute pleasure to be here.
‘When I joined, I really wanted to make an impact and get this team up the league. Obviously the injury has not helped that goal, but, now I’m back, I’m hoping to stay fit for the rest of the season and really cement Portsmouth Football Club’s position in the Championship so they can go again.
‘I truly believe that next season, with the right recruitment, you’ve got the nucleus here to really kick on. Who knows what can happen, it’s a special club. I’m excited to see how it goes.
‘I kind of wanted to come in and not only improve us on the pitch, but also improve us off the pitch. Just be a good human being and a good person to be around, be supportive and try to help the lads and improve them as much as possible.
‘The silver lining with my injury - and I know it’s weird saying that - is it’s completely unrelated to my hamstring and knee issues of the past. I don’t think it was particularly avoidable, it just happened through fatigue.
‘After QPR we were seven points clear. Then we beat Leeds and were 10 points clear. At that point I was quite happy with my legacy, but football has a funny way of changing things quite quickly.
‘I’m just happy to be back and, hopefully, I can help the team get some more points in these last few games.’
‘Pretty good point’
Having missed the previous nine matches, Atkinson was thrown into Pompey’s side against Derby - despite having trained just three times and currently suffering from illness.
He scored twice - including a stoppage-time equaliser - while also registering the first own goal of his professional career.
Regardless, the stalemate ensures Mousinho’s men are now four points ahead of the Championship relegation zone with four matches remaining.
Atkinson added: ‘Obviously three points is ideal, but it’s just as important to prevent Derby from getting three points. We keep them at the same distance behind us and that’s why this point is a pretty good one.
‘There are four games left, so that’s still 12 points up for grabs - and we need to get as many as possible.’
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