Tom McIntyre was born in Reading, grew up supporting the club and made more than 100 appearances for them.
So the defender admitted that it was not easy to decide to leave the struggling Royals for pastures new.
But once his mind was made up, it did not take very long for the 25-year-old to select his next destination.
And after a completing a switch to Pompey on Tuesday evening, McIntyre is excited to join the promotion hunt.
He said: “It was really tough for me to leave Reading because they’ve been a massive part of my life – making my debut for the club I supported was a dream come true.
“Everyone knows that they aren’t in the best situation and I’m hoping that things can turn around for them.
“But I felt it was the right time to move on and there was no better place for me than Pompey to come and progress my career.
“I’m delighted to be here. I didn’t know what was going on and was struggling to sleep because of the excitement, so there are a lot of emotions.
"I felt it was the right time to move on and there was no better place for me than Pompey to come and progress my career."
“I spoke to the manager and Rich – the direction they want to take the club in and the environment they want to create is something I can thrive on.
“There were a lot of big plusses and positives for me and coming here is a culmination of a lot of things.
“I’ve heard that it’s a great dressing room here and it’s massive if you’ve got everyone pulling in the right direction.
“This team plays an attacking, positive style of football and I can’t wait to play in front of the fans because I know they get right behind you.”
McIntyre believes he has a lot to offer a Blues back-line that boast the second best defensive record in the division.
He said: “I’m comfortable on the ball and like to be positive in the way that I play, driving into midfield and looking to commit people.
“For a defender, though, it’s got to be all about keeping clean sheets and that’s what I’ll be looking to do.
“I know that nothing’s given and I’ll have to earn my spot in the side. I just want to help secure promotion.”