Neil Warnock: Legendary QPR, Cardiff and EFL manager expresses love for Pompey fans ahead of Guildhall show

Neil Warnock, who has managed 17 different clubs and won a record-breaking eight promotions throughout his career, is hosting a live show at Portsmouth Guildhall. His ‘Are You With Me?’ tour will take place on June 14.

A donation from every ticket sold will be donated to Pompey In The Community (PITC), with the former QPR, Crystal Palace and Cardiff City boss hoping to raise over £10,000 from the evening. He said: “I love going around the country talking about my career and football in general, trying to make people smile along the way with a few stories, so to now also be raising funds for the wonderful community projects the PITC are involved with, makes the night extra special.”

Speaking to Paul Marsh at Express FM ahead of the upcoming show, Mr Warnock reminisced about the “great battles” he had with Blues fans over the years. “When I’m stood up in my dugout trying to shout instructions on when I’ve been at Portsmouth, they’ve drowned me out, the fans behind me,” the 75-year-old added.

“In the end, I have to give up. The lads have no chance of hearing you. They’re so vociferous. And they have been since day one, since I went down there. So nothing changes, really. That’s why I said to Steve, the man who’s doing these shows, I said, I want to do one in Portsmouth. They might not be able to hear me because they’ll probably drown me out, but I said it’ll be fun.” The legendary manager said he also has fond memories of Fratton Park itself.

He added: “I mean, when they start singing and the Portsmouth chimes and all Pompey chimes and that, it’s my kind of club. It’s sort of what I call a bread and butter club in the fact that the down to earth people, the fans, they like you to rib them. They rib your back. They give me stick and they know that I give them a bit of stick as well.

“It is taken in good spirit, really. A lot of the modern stadiums haven’t got that personality. They haven’t got that, what I love as a manager, that sort of togetherness that you feel.” Mr Warnock said he has always wanted to manage Portsmouth due to the passionate supporters, and hopes the upcoming tour will raise vital funds for good causes.

Jodie Anthony, head of marketing and fundraising at PITC, said: “Every year, we enable over 36,000 children, young people and adults to access support to improve their wellbeing and education, we distribute over 3.5 tonnes to food banks with support from donations, and some of our Pompey Pedals volunteers alone give over 6,000 hours to allow hundreds of people with disabilities and mobility needs to access inclusive cycling. These are just a few of the programmes this money will go towards.”

Tickets are on sale through the Portsmouth Guildhall website and are priced at £31. The box office time is 7pm.