Irish League star clear contract talks can wait with 'finishing the right way important to me'

Thompson joined the Ports from Crusaders in 2023 and immediately turned into a fan favourite, leading the club to Championship title glory as Niall Currie’s men secured promotion back to Northern Ireland’s top-flight at the first attempt.

The 35-year-old has been a tremendous servant to Portadown, making over 100 appearances across all competitions, but his current deal is set to expire after Saturday’s trip to Bangor.

Having been thrust into an interim manager role following Currie’s exit – his temporary reign began with a win over former club Ballymena United – Thompson unselfishly has no interest in his own personal circumstances, instead focusing on collective gains.

With Thompson’s old Ballymena boss David Jeffrey appointed on Tuesday evening, the pair will sit down to discuss future plans in the coming weeks, but, for now, the skipper has only one focus.

"I've loved every minute of being at Portadown and have tried to do whatever they have asked of me to the best of my ability,” he said. “My contract runs until the end of the season and I've been really keen to give them everything I can.

"I want to give everything to the club as long as I'm there.

"Those conversations (about the future) are all ahead of us. I have been really focused on trying to play well this year, then I picked up an injury and now this stuff has landed – there hasn't been too much time to talk about it.

"I've been pretty relaxed over the last few years on that stuff. Maybe when you're in your mid-20s there's a lot of pressure that comes with it, but I've been relaxed.

"We can sit down at the end of this season and talk about my future then, I'm fine with that.

"These past three years I have played a lot, I've made 100 appearances for the club. When I left Crusaders, my body was letting me down and I thought I may not have much left.

"I have to give credit to Niall, he managed me really well. I haven't been able to train as much as I used to but we've found a way to work around it where I could get ready for the right time and play a lot of games. That has been great for me because nothing beats playing.”

With a view to his post-playing career, Thompson started his coaching journey this year and is working towards obtaining a UEFA B Licence, but is now getting an early insight into the life of an Irish League manager.

He has quickly gathered that a “crazy gig” isn’t for the faint-hearted with so much demanded of bosses in Northern Ireland’s top-flight, but has still embraced the experience.

"You have all these ideas in your head about what it might be like...it's so busy, the phone never stops and there's always a problem around the corner,” he added. "I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted to do but decided this year to start on the (coaching) journey and see.

"Lots of people have done the courses and decided then it wasn't for them. I'm concentrating on this week just really.

"It's full on and I want to finish the right way, it's important to me. We're representing the club and want to do it to the best on our ability."