Portsmouth defender Liam Vincent is hoping to put a difficult season behind him following his loan move to Maidstone.

Vincent’s debut campaign at Fratton Park, after arriving from Bromley for an undisclosed fee, was wrecked by a stress fracture in his shin.

He finally pulled on a Pompey shirt in pre-season, scoring a free-kick in a 3-0 win over Hampshire neighbours Havant.

On Friday, the 19-year-old joined the Stones on a 28-day loan deal, making his debut in the 1-1 National League draw at Altrincham the following day.

With regular left-back Jerome Binnom-Williams sidelined by a knee injury, Vincent knew he’d be in the starting XI.

The teenager played the first half before making way for Christie Pattisson in a tactical reshuffle, getting competitive minutes under his belt for the first time in more than a year.

“The move happened quite quickly,” said Vincent.

“It’s good for me to be out on loan and pick up some minutes and some game time.

“They’ve had a few injuries, so when they got in contact they told me I’d go straight into the team, which is great for me.

“Obviously today didn’t work out quite how I would have liked but that’s football. It was a tactical change at half-time.

“Hopefully in the coming weeks I’ll be able to get a foothold in the team and we can kick on and get some good results.

“Everyone’s been good to me since I came in, very welcoming.

“I’m looking forward to continuing getting to know everyone and pushing on.”

Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley revealed there had been Premier League and Championship interest in Vincent when he signed him on a three-year deal in June last year.

The teenager decided on Pompey, believing he had a better chance of playing first-team football, only for injury to strike.

“It wasn’t ideal at all but that’s all in the past and hopefully I can kick on here and make an impact with the team,” said Vincent.

“I was out all of last season with a stress fracture and then more or less came back for pre-season, did pre-season at Portsmouth and was looking to come out on loan.”

Vincent will continue to train at Portsmouth when he can, which will give him a chance to catch up with former Maidstone striker Joe Pigott.

Pigott, who’s joined Portsmouth on a season-long loan from Ipswich, loved his time with his hometown club and will have only good things to say about the Stones.

“Because the move happened so quickly, I haven’t had a chance to speak to him about Maidstone but I’m sure he’ll speak to me when I go back there,” said Vincent.

“I’ll train with Portsmouth when Maidstone aren’t in on a Monday and there’s no Tuesday game.”