Woking ‘could not turn down’ Portsmouth friendly despite small excuse already
Portsmouth’s pre-season preparations under John Mousinho are already well underway after a week in Slovakia.
Perhaps the biggest news regarding Portsmouth’s training camp in Slovakia was the fact that Matt Ritchie was left at home as he prepares to find a new club.
The Blues‘ first friendly during pre-season is set to be against National League side Woking.
Adrian Segecic could be in line to make his Pompey debut, with Mousinho likely wanting to see his new arrival in action on Tuesday evening.
The Fratton Park faithful will also be looking forward to watching their Australian maestro as excitement begins to ramp up for the new Championship campaign.
Woking excited ahead of Portsmouth
Despite John Swift being on the verge of returning to PO3, it is unlikely that he will be confirmed as a Pompey player in time to feature against Woking.
Speaking in an interview on the Woking FC YouTube channel (14 July), their director of football, Jody Brown, previewed the upcoming fixture against Pompey.
“It’ll be an excellent workout for us,” Brown said.
“It’s probably a little bit early to be honest, in terms of our preparation, but we can’t turn down the opportunity of having a Championship club that’s only an hour round the corner, coming here to play us.
“We’re excited, but I think it’s a great one for the supporters to come in and see us against a Championship club, even within our group, we’ve got some Portsmouth supporters.”
Brown continued: “It’ll be a real challenge, but you know, I think we’ll hold our own, I fully expect us to hold our own, and I think it’ll take us into the following game really well.”
Harsh reality for the Blues
Most Pompey supporters would have anticipated more than just the one new signing before their opening pre-season fixture.
This could be set to pick up soon, however, with Swift’s imminent arrival on the south coast.
Alex Robertson is someone who has been linked with a return to Fratton Park following relegation to League One with Cardiff.
Pelle Mattsson is another reported target for Mousinho’s side, who are in desperate need of midfield reinforcements after all hope for a Freddie Potts return to the Blues in the summer was shattered.
Portsmouth look set to lose out on Mattsson, however, with Championship rivals Norwich City set to pip them to the deal for the Danish midfielder, worth around £2.2million.
With Andy Cullen and Co seemingly intent on leaving some of their transfer business until later on in the window, Mousinho could find himself having to integrate his new signings after the season begins.
This could backfire for Pompey, who may find themselves getting off to a slow start in the Championship if most of Mousinho’s new signings miss out on the bulk of their pre-season preparations.
First, they’ve got to put on a show at Woking and move forward from there.
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