Jack Whatmough spent the entirety of his career with Portsmouth before his Wigan switch last season and the player has now revealed to EFL.com he was 'desperate' to get the club promoted to the Championship before he left.

Starting off with the club at just 16-years-old in the 2013/14 season as they were in League Two, he managed to help them get back to the third tier but couldn't quite ever get them back into the second division.

He started off as a bit-part player before emerging more and more as a first-team regular in the fourth tier. When the side sealed the League Two title and a spot back in League One, he became more and more important (bar a blip of a season in 2019/20 when he managed just one outing).

 

 

During his last season with Pompey, he managed 34 league games, the most in his career to that point. He couldn't do enough to get them into the play-off spots though and the side finished in eighth place.

After impressing for the side during that season though, Wigan decided to move and snap him up. The move ended up being a hugely positive one for the defender too, as he played in 46 games and helped the side to claim the third tier title.

Now, Whatmough will have have the chance to finally tackle the Championship for the first time in his career. However, according to EFL.com, he is disappointed that he never got the opportunity to do so with previous club Portsmouth.

He said: "Three and a half years ago, Portsmouth were clear at the top in January and then slid into the Play-Offs.

"That year ended in disappointment and then we had another Play-Off defeat the following year. We just missed out on the Play-Offs the season after. I was desperate to help them get promoted, but it wasn’t meant to be.

"Now, I’m just looking forward to testing myself in the Championship for the first time with Wigan."

The Verdict

Jack Whatmough has certainly grown as a player with Portsmouth, even if he was never able to get the side into the Championship.

Starting off in his teens, he had plenty of League Two experience by the time he was 20 and had racked up even more EFL experience by the time he had reached his current age of 25. In fact, he has over 167 league games to his name in various divisions already.

He's now ready to take on the Championship for the first time in his career and you would have to say he looks more than ready for the chance. He has paid his dues in both League One and Two and having played and worked so hard at Wigan, he should now get the chance to thrive in the second tier.

Portsmouth fans will likely have no hard feelings towards the defender after his service for the club - it will just be a shame for both parties that they couldn't grace the second tier together before he left the side.