Regan Poole hoping of play-off glory to achieve Championship dream

Regan Poole is hopeful that success in Sunday’s League One play-off final with Lincoln City could elevate his chances of a Wales call-up.

Poole has been a figure of consistency following his January transfer from League One rivals MK Dons, earning plaudits and featuring frequently for the Imps.

He has started 18 league matches since and now has a chance of becoming a Championship player next term.

Over two legs, Poole helped his side to overcome Sunderland and they will face Blackpool in the League One play-off final on Sunday afternoon, with both sides vying for a place in the second-tier.

For Poole, it won’t be the first time that he has played at the iconic Wembley Stadium- whilst on loan with Newport in 2019, he started the match as they lost to Tranmere Rovers in the League Two playoffs. He is eagerly looking forward to this weekend’s challenge, though.

“The last time I played at Wembley didn’t have the best of outcomes but hopefully this time around, it can be a little bit better and a little bit more successful,” hopes the former Exiles defender.

“We feel like we can beat anyone in the league when we’re at it and I think we showed that in the second half against Sunderland, we were a completely different team.

“We are going into the game confident and we believe in ourselves and we believe that we can get the job done and hopefully we can be promoted.”

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Interestingly, Poole has faced off against Blackpool on two separate occasions this season. The first match came when he was an MK Dons player and suffered a 2-0 loss back in October, however, Poole featured in Lincoln’s 2-2 draw with the Tangerines last month.

Lincoln overturned a two-goal deficit that day, but he is prepared for the challenge nonetheless and recognises the threat that they carry.

“They’re a good team, they finished third in the division- you don’t finish there for no reason and they’re obviously a good side. They’ve done really well and went on a really good run at the back end of the season.

“They are a good side and we know what they’re all about, but we do believe that when we’re on it, we can beat any side in the division and the same applies for the final.

“I believe that if we play our game and do what we need to do then we can become promoted.”

“I’ve played with a couple of them (Blackpool players), Poole continued.

“I played with Demitri Mitchell at United so he’s probably the one that I know the most, but yeah I do know a couple of players, played with them only for short spells to be fair.”

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Having spent time with Newport, Northampton, MK Dons and now Lincoln- Poole has certainly proved his worth in the third and fourth-tiers. So, with a playoff final on the horizon, the prospect of playing Championship football provides a real cause of excitement.

“It’s exciting. You know, as a player, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve played in League Two and League One now, and hopefully, the next step for me in my career is the Championship.

“That’s a huge part of the reason why I signed for Lincoln City because I believed they were capable of doing that and that was my aim.

“I’ve been in and out of the Wales setup for quite a while now so hopefully, if I do get promoted with Lincoln then that could push me up a little bit more up to that day and hopefully I can get my first full-cap.

He is yet to play for the Welsh senior side, despite making numerous 23-man squads but has gained caps from U17 to U21 level. If he continues to perform in this vein, there is no reason why he can’t go on to instate himself in Robert Page’s plans in the not-too-distant-future.

Poole also cites the influence of current teammates Brennan Johnson and Joe Walsh- both of whom he previously played alongside at Wales youth level and MK Dons respectively- as key factors in helping him to settle in at the club.

“I knew them before I joined, obviously I played with Walshy and I played with Bren before so it does help the settling-in process a lot easier.

“To be fair I knew quite a few other lads as well there before I did join. So it’s never easy going into a new team but I had quite a few friends there so it did make it a bit easier.”

Poole, who has already embraced a plethora of experience at a young age, ranks reaching Wembley with Lincoln as one of the proudest moments of his career to date.

“For such a young player, I do feel I’ve experienced quite a lot in such a short space of time but this is definitely up there. What it would mean for everyone involved with the club and everyone associated with Lincoln City, for them to be playing in the Championship next season would be unreal, the journey that they’ve been on as a club.”

“It’s been nothing short of extraordinary.

“I think it was 11 years ago today that they were in the National League, and 11 years later they could be playing Championship football, so what an achievement it would be for everyone at the club.”

Due to the easing of recent government restrictions, Sincil Bank was able to welcome supporters back through the turnstiles for the first time in fourteen months for the Sunderland match and this is something that Poole feels was invaluable.

“It always helps when you have fans in the stadium, as you saw in the first leg against Sunderland, they were outstanding and it gives you an extra manner.

“It was our twelfth man and when we played Sunderland the other day it was their twelfth man, which is why I think we were quite taken back by the first half because there were 10,000 fans absolutely blaring, singing Sunderland songs.

“And, you know, it was a shock really because we haven’t played with fans in the stadium for a long time, so to be playing in front of 10,000 all singing for the home team, and you’ve got no one singing for you, it was tough.

“Hopefully at Wembley, it’s an even playing field, I think it’s around 4,000 for each team, it’s going to be a great day.

The Sunderland home leg marked the first time that Poole had played under the vocal Lincoln crowd. He looks forward to being cheered on by them more often as normality slowly resumes.

“I know a couple of the lads haven’t played in front of them since they’ve been there all season so I had to wait a little less time, they had to wait longer than me to see fans.

“I’m looking forward to playing in front of them every week and you know the first leg against Sunderland, they were there and if it’s going to be like that every week then I’m really looking forward to it.

The former Cardiff City academy player joined Lincoln from League One rivals MK Dons in the January transfer window and opened up on coming into the club, saying: “It was quite difficult when I first joined we went through quite a tough spell.

“We were on a little bit of a bad run so it did have a bit of a rocky start for me, but I feel that the longer my time’s gone on, the easier it’s gone and the more I’ve settled in, the better I’ve played on the pitch. I do feel like I’m getting back up there and I’m starting to perform a lot better now so hopefully, it can keep going that way.”

The acquisition of Poole ties in well with Lincoln’s philosophy to construct a youthful squad capable of achieving success. Earlier on this season, they fielded League One’s youngest squad of the campaign, with an average age of just 22.5 against Bristol Rovers. They won that game 1-0.

Evidently going by the ‘if you’re good enough, you’re old enough’ belief, Poole stated: “We are the youngest team in the league but it just shows that it doesn’t really matter about age because we’re in the playoffs.”

“I do think that the first half against Sunderland the other day was quite a shock to quite a few young lads, we had a couple of experienced players in there but the majority of the team were around 22/23.

“To play a game of that magnitude with such a young team did take us a little bit by surprise, but it just shows what a good team we have and what a good sense of character we have to play how we did in the second half.”

Since moving to Lincolnshire, he has had to make adaptations to his game. Lincoln adopt a more attacking style of play, with an onus on full-backs to get forward and attack frequently. Poole, who has previously spent time in an array of positions ranging from centre back to right back to midfield, has endeared himself to such an expansive brand of football.

“To be fair, I knew what I was getting myself in for when I signed. I knew the style of football they played and that was a huge reason why I joined because the style of football is attractive.

“It’s a good style of football, it’s attacking and to be fair that was something I wanted to be a part of.

“On the training field, obviously because there have been so many games since I have joined, I haven’t had as much time on the training field as I would’ve liked. But to be fair, the more games as a football player the better so I’ve really enjoyed my time here so far.”

(Featured Image: Nikitas Mesney/FAW)