Catlin's Pompey budget pride

But the Blues chief executive played down talk Paul Cook will be armed with the biggest war chest in League Two next season.

Catlin has paid tribute to supporters who are once again allowing their club to build for their promotion bid.

Around 9,000 season tickets have already been sold ahead of the new campaign, with last season’s 11,000-plus total again set to be matched.

That backing will ensure Cook is well supported – and Catlin believes that’s something to be proud of.

He said: ‘We’ve budgeted very conservatively based on the fact this is now our fourth season in League Two.

‘Obviously, fans’ hopes were reignited by last season’s performances and are coming out in substantial numbers to renew their season tickets.

‘That’s brilliant news for us as a club.

‘As we’ve said before, every penny that we get goes back in. There’s no-one taking money out of the cub.

‘This is the beauty of the fan-owned model and where it comes into play.

‘Every penny we generate gives up more fire-power in terms of supporting the manager on the pitch.

‘The fans are key to everything. It gives us more ammunition to give Paul. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.

‘Being a fan-owned club, if we don’t get the fans we don’t have the budget. Plain and simple. It’s the fans who give us that fire-power.

‘We’ve worked on some fantastic revenue-generating schemes. We’ve cut costs right back.

‘So it’s now literally a simple exercise of the more money we get into the club via the fans the more we can give to the manager.

‘The more we get in, the more we can give to the manager to get players on the pitch to deliver success.’

Doncaster last week proudly stated their budget will sit towards the head of sides in League Two – but behind Pompey’s kitty for players and wages.

Catlin is unsure how they would know how much the Blues have to spend.

‘I don’t know how any club can know anyone else’s budgets. It’s private and confidential,’ he said.

‘At the end of the season we know where we stand as a club compared to other clubs, but we don’t know their budget now.

‘But for any club to comment on Portsmouth and our budget is total conjecture.

‘However, the fact we have got ourselves in a position where we have a competitive budget is a fantastic testament to the backing the fans have given us.

‘It’s plain and simple: We’re a fan-owned club and the revenue which comes from them makes a difference.

‘We rely on the fans and they should feel proud the support they give us enables Paul to go out and get the calibre of players we’ve been able to attract this summer.’