Portsmouth CEO targets Premier League return

A general view of Fratton Park prior to the Sky Bet League Two match between Portsmouth and Northampton Town at Fratton Park on December 29, 2013
© Getty Images
Portsmouth chief executive Mark Catlin says that he believes the club can return to the Premier League in short order with the right investment.

Portsmouth chief executive Mark Catlin has said that he is confident the club can return to the Premier League sooner rather than later if they find the right owner.

Pompey secured promotion to League One on Monday, seven years on from their fall from grace from the Premier League amid severe financial problems that threatened the club's existence.

American businessman Michael Eisner - former chairman at Disney - is currently in the midst of exclusive negotiations about purchasing the club, with talks expected to be complete by June 1.

Speaking after Pompey's promotion to the third tier was confirmed, Catlin told Sky Sports News: "Unfortunately for Portsmouth it's been scarred by a history of bad owners, generally. Not everyone, Milan Mandaric when he was our owner here was really highly regarded.

"I liken it to girlfriends. You might have a string of bad girlfriends but that doesn't stop you looking for the next one and hopefully one day one will become your wife and you live happily ever after. Hopefully, possibly Michael Eisner might be that one.

"As a club I think we can [get back to the Premier League]. I think we are now set up, we've got great foundations to do that it's just how fast and how quickly we do that and a lot of that will require an amount of investment we can bring into the club."

Portsmouth's last fixture as a Premier League club was a 1-0 loss at Everton in May 2010.

A general view of Fratton Park prior to the Sky Bet League Two match between Portsmouth and Northampton Town at Fratton Park on December 29, 2013
Read Next:
Portsmouth takeover moves closer
>
You May Like
Recomended from Sports Mole



Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CPortsmouth462691179403987
4Luton TownLuton462017970432777
5Exeter CityExeter462181775561971
6Carlisle UnitedCarlisle461817116968171
7Blackpool4618161269462370
8Colchester UnitedColchester4619121567571069
9Wycombe WanderersWycombe461912155853569
10Stevenage46207196763467
11Cambridge UnitedCambridge46199185850866
12Mansfield TownMansfield461715145450466
13Accrington StanleyAccrington461714155956365
14Grimsby Town461711185963-462
15Barnet461415175764-757
16Notts County46168225476-2256
17Crewe AlexandraCrewe461413195867-955
18Morecambe461410225373-2052
19Crawley TownCrawley461312215371-1851
20Yeovil TownYeovil461117184964-1550
21Cheltenham TownCheltenham461214204969-2050
22Newport County461212225173-2248
RHartlepool UnitedHartlepool461113225475-2146
RLeyton Orient46106304787-4036