Neil Warnock sends Portsmouth FC message after League One promotion | OneFootball

Experienced manager Neil Warnock has taken to X to congratulate Portsmouth after they won promotion and the League One title on Tuesday night.

Pompey have endured some very tough times this century, spending a chunk of their time in the Premier League but also heading into administration and being relegated from the Premier League to League Two.

Managing to secure promotion from the fourth tier under Paul Cook back in 2017, they would have been hoping to get to the Championship shortly after.

But it has been a painful time in the third tier under numerous managers.

In the end, it was an inexperienced manager who managed to guide the club to another promotion, with this job being John Mousinho's first in management.

When he was first appointed, there was a lot of scepticism, but the south-coast side have been excellent for much of the 2023/24 campaign and richly deserve to be playing in the second tier after spending a decent chunk of the season at the top of the table, ahead of the likes of Derby County and Bolton Wanderers.

There's work to be done in the transfer market during the summer, with some key loanees including Abu Kamara set to return to their loan clubs at the end of the season.

They may also receive bids for some of their permanent players who have impressed this season, but they are probably in a strong position to retain them after they managed to seal promotion.

Pompey have received plenty of messages of congratulations after securing promotion following their win against Barnsley in midweek.

Warnock took to social media to send his message, posting on X: "Congratulations Pompey and all the fans for the League 1 title last night!

"So pleased for a great club that has seen tough times in recent years and fought back strong. The fans deserve so much credit for that.

"Look forward to seeing you in June at the Guild Hall."

Portsmouth richly deserve promotion

Pompey have been magnificent for much of the season.

After years of finishing outside of the top six, it would have been easy for the south-coast side to have endured another average season.

But some excellent recruitment and the ownership's faith in Mousinho has fully paid off and the Eisner family should get a huge amount of credit for that.

The fans, as well as the team, deserve promotion.

Having gone through such a tough time in the last decade and more, Pompey supporters will be glad that all the pain they have gone through is paying off.

Tuesday was a memorable night and the fans can enjoy the remainder of the season, before their attention turns to the summer.

Clearly, there's work to do in the summer to give themselves the best chance of staying in the second tier in the long term before potentially pushing for a Premier League return, but everyone associated with the club can enjoy the present for now.