Andrew Cullen has outlined his reasons for joining Pompey as the club’s new chief executive.
He left MK Dons to replace Mark Catlin in the role at the start of the month, although has only just made the move down to the south coast.
It was not a difficult decision for a man who has previously served as a League One and Championship representative on the EFL board.
And Cullen revealed that the commitment of the owners was one reason why he has arrived at Fratton Park.
He said: “I wasn’t looking to move on, but I’d done 12-and-a-half years at MK Dons and it was an exciting opportunity to come to Portsmouth.
“The most important relationship I need to have – apart from the manager – is with the owners and the discussions with them really sold it to me.
“That’s because of their commitment to this football club and I could see just where they want to take it.
“They’re not looking to take money out and want to establish a club that can live within its means and it sustainable.
“But they also want to take it forward in many different ways – we all want to get to the Championship and then look where we can go from there.
"The most important relationship I need to have – apart from the manager – is with the owners and the discussions with them really sold it to me."
“There’s also redeveloping the stadium to build a real legacy and that’s something that has a resonance with me.
“It didn’t take a huge amount of time for me to make my mind up – in fact it’s been about an 8-10 week process to where we are today.”
Cullen is eager to start meeting people associated with the Blues over the coming weeks as he settled into the role.
He said: “The immediate priority is to get to know everybody – to listen, learn and understand how the football club operates.
“It has a rich tradition and heritage, but also an excellent relationship with its supporters. It’s something that people here have worked hard for.
“I’ll be spending a lot of time over the first few weeks talking to people in the organisation and what they see are the key things to take the club to the next level.
“Then it’s about being accessible to the different supporter groups and trying to communicate as much as I can with them.
“There’s a huge passion and all over the city, everyone’s a Pompey fan. That’s not something I recognise coming from Milton Keynes, where the club’s a lot younger.
“I also need to spend time with all they key players in the community – organisations, businesses and the public sector. If you have those relationships in place, it makes life a lot easier.”