Pompey Talk: Shock Matt Ritchie exit on cards plus Slovakia training camp latest

The News, Portsmouth

Mark McMahon and Neil Allen discuss Matt Ritchie’s impending Pompey departure after just one season back at Fratton Park.  The duo also discuss what’s been happening at the Blues’ week- long stay in Bratislava as the team prepare for next season.

Transcript

00:00Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Pompay Talk. My name is Mark McMahon and joining me today to discuss all the latest developments at Pompey is the news's Neil Allen.

00:13And Neil, before you speak, there's breaking news, hot off the press, which we'll just dive straight into, Matt Ritchie. Do you want to reveal what's going on?

00:23Yeah, he's not. Yeah, so currently I'm at Pompey's training camp in Slovakia, if you've not seen the videos and read our articles.

00:33So, yeah, me, myself and Jordan are in Slovakia. We've been given great access. We watch the train every day.

00:40We've been interviewing the players and the manager every day. And yeah, we've also got caught in the rain every day.

00:47It's been very, very wet. Me, Jordan and Andy Moon, we went to the local town.

00:55I'm not allowed to say where we are at the moment, but we went to the local town and it was basically shut at nine o'clock.

01:01We didn't actually have any dinner last night.

01:04So, yeah, it's been great. And the players have actually had a day off today.

01:11So, and obviously it's all kicked off with the Matt Ritchie situation.

01:16Now, Matt is not out here. I think many people have noticed.

01:24And yeah, the club didn't necessarily want that put out until a certain point.

01:30I think it's always going to come out because fans are down for an open training session tomorrow.

01:36So they would have known Matt Ritchie was not there.

01:40So it was all going to come out and the club prepared for that.

01:42But it's now out officially.

01:46Yes. And yeah, Matt Ritchie, he's...

01:51John Massino said in an interview with us two months ago at the end of the season, actually,

01:56about how Matt Ritchie wouldn't get regular starts in the fourth coming season because of his age.

02:03They want to improve that position.

02:06And obviously they still want him because he's a tremendous player.

02:10But Matt is unhappy with that.

02:13He sees himself being the twilight of his career.

02:16So he wants regular football.

02:18And yeah, so he's looking for a move elsewhere.

02:23And he's not...

02:26I don't think he's trained with them over three seasons as a whole.

02:30So it's been going on for a while.

02:31And yeah, he's not here.

02:34So it will be the last we'll see of Matt Ritchie in the Pompey shirt.

02:40As you say, we've known about this for quite a wee while now.

02:44But are you surprised that it's come to this here?

02:48Like when he said last year, everybody was delighted.

02:50He's going to bring wealth of experience.

02:53He's got Pompey through and through his veins.

02:55And yet, all of a sudden, it's coming to this here short of a difficult parting of ways.

03:02Are you surprised how this has materialised?

03:04Yes, yes.

03:07Because he had a really good season.

03:09He was crucial for the press for Pompey.

03:11A pivotal player.

03:12Scored twice against Middlesbrough at home.

03:14So he played 41 times, five goals, one assist.

03:20The one assist is an interesting one, really, considering he took a lot of the dead balls and free kicks.

03:26And his only assist was at Norwich for a winger.

03:29But defensively, he's been magnificent.

03:31Work rate, pressing, outstanding.

03:33And Pompey do not want him to leave.

03:37They don't want him to leave.

03:40They would rather he be here.

03:42Yeah.

03:42But there's obviously been a difference of opinion.

03:48John Messina sees him starting fewer games.

03:51Matt doesn't want to start fewer games.

03:53He wants more involvement.

03:55Or maintaining that involvement he had last season.

03:58And it feels better if he goes.

04:00So, yes, it's John Messina will be speaking about it tomorrow.

04:07And presumably Matt Ritchie will speak about it somewhere as well.

04:10So we'll get more details from the actual people involved.

04:13But I've just been chatting to John Messina before I came on here.

04:19And he said they will address it tomorrow after training.

04:23So we'll see what the club says on the situation.

04:25I suppose when you look at the situation, he's 35 years of age.

04:29And he's been at Newcastle for quite a while.

04:32He wasn't necessarily getting any game time at Newcastle.

04:35So he arrived at Brantham Park, his boyhood club.

04:39Wanted to play for them.

04:40Got loads of games next season.

04:42So it must have been hard for Matt Ritchie to then hear that, you know what,

04:45we might not play you off next season.

04:47You can understand, given that past history, that he just wants,

04:50when he's in the twilight of his, God knows how long he's got left,

04:53he just wants to play football week in and week out.

04:55So you can understand where he's coming from, can't you?

04:57Yeah, particularly the pivotal role he had.

05:00Probably season changed when he was put in the team at Hull.

05:03They changed their style and the results changed.

05:06I know Colby Bishop's another one.

05:07Season changed, isn't it?

05:09He was a pivotal, pivotal player.

05:12His energy, his enthusiasm, his drive.

05:14He was captain when Marlon wasn't in the team.

05:16And rightly, Matt will be annoyed if the manager said to him,

05:23yeah, you're not going to play at start as much.

05:26However, the flip side, Pompey as an attacking force are over-reliant on the left wing

05:32through Josh Murphy.

05:34So they're looking to also change up on the right wing,

05:37get a more attacking play on the right wing.

05:39They can give him a different attacking edge than Matt Ritchie.

05:42But Matt Ritchie's not just about attacking, is he?

05:46It's his work rate.

05:48It's his energy.

05:50His leadership.

05:51You can hear him shouting on the pitch.

05:54Defensively, he's outstanding as well because of that work rate.

05:58But Pompey want to evolve.

06:00They want to get better.

06:01We know they want to get a couple of wingers.

06:03They need a right winger.

06:04They need a left winger as well.

06:07So, yeah, that was a situation.

06:11They wanted to strengthen the squad.

06:13And there's still plenty of time to strengthen that squad.

06:16But Matt Ritchie, unfortunately, doesn't like the idea of fewer match minutes,

06:22which he doesn't stand.

06:23Oh, yeah?

06:24Not everything's a controversy, is it, really?

06:27Sometimes, I keep saying to some people on social media,

06:30some things it's not that deep.

06:32And it's one of those where a manager thinks he should play less,

06:35he thinks he shouldn't.

06:37It's a football disagreement.

06:39Yeah.

06:40So, you mentioned there what he brings to Pompey on the pitch,

06:44his aggressiveness, his energy, his passion, his work rate.

06:48You also touched on his leadership.

06:50Have Pompey got a group currently there at the moment that has enough leaders?

06:57Was Matt Ritchie at the focal point of that there?

06:59How much is he going to be lost in that respect?

07:03Yeah, well, Marlon Pack's still here.

07:05Yeah, it'll be interesting to see what they do with the captaincy next year.

07:08But Marlon Pack's here, who, for me, is Pompey's best captain since Michael Doyle.

07:13He's more of a natural leader of the Pompey dresser in the club as well,

07:21than Matt Ritchie, I think.

07:24Matt is brilliant at driving standards on the training pitch, on and off it.

07:27Brilliant.

07:29Marlon is just superb.

07:31You see him around the club, handles himself magnificently.

07:37Proper, proper captain.

07:39It's bewildering why he was no more captain than Danny Cowley.

07:43It was actually John Messina that made him his captain.

07:44But it reminds me so much of Michael Doyle in terms of how he leads a club on and off the field.

07:51He's a fulcrum of everything.

07:53Such an impressive figure.

07:55Win, lose, or draw, he'll come out and speak.

07:57Not all captains like that.

07:59Brett Pittman didn't like doing a lot of press as the captain.

08:02But you need to do that.

08:04You've also got Colby Bishop, huge influence around the club.

08:11Another leader, big captain on occasions.

08:14So you've still got those two there as well.

08:17Jordan Williams as well, he's another one.

08:19So they've still got those voices around the place.

08:22So Burnham May is not guaranteed starting role next season.

08:26What does that say about that left wing position next term?

08:29Is Harvey Blair the guy to step up or is John Messina looking to recruit a front line right winger

08:35that's going to serve the same purpose as Josh Murphy on the opposite flank?

08:40Yeah, he's come out and said he wants two wingers, hasn't he?

08:44John Messina.

08:45So yeah, Paddy Lane's back from injury as well.

08:48But they don't need the strength.

08:48They don't need a front line right winger.

08:51An improvement on Matt Ritchie.

08:54Providing perhaps more attacking thrust.

08:56I don't know.

08:57But again, it's something that will be addressed by John Messina tomorrow.

09:02But yeah, they'll need a right winger.

09:06Harvey Blair is currently injured.

09:07He's a bit of a rookie as well.

09:09He's still learning.

09:10So they're not going to rely on him.

09:11Paddy Lane's come back from injury.

09:14So they'll be looking to add two wingers to the squad.

09:17And they'll be looking for a first team right winger to come in.

09:21OK.

09:21I know we haven't had time to even gauge opinion at the minute,

09:25seeing as this is just breaking news for us as we're recording this on Wednesday morning.

09:30But what do you reckon the reaction of the fans will be to this here development?

09:33Yeah, it's interesting.

09:35I've not had real much chance to look at it myself.

09:40I think a lot of fans understand that I think he's 36 in September.

09:46Yeah.

09:46So you've got to remember that as well.

09:48So a lot of fans will understand the need to evolve the team and get in another play on the right wing.

09:53I think a younger person, a different option perhaps.

09:57But you still want him around the squad.

09:59But I would still want Matt Ritchie at Portsmouth Football Club.

10:02So the person he is, what he brings on and off the field, the passion he has for the club,

10:08the quality of player he is, you'd want him to stay without any question.

10:13And the club would have liked him to stay as well.

10:15But, unfortunately, it's not the ideal situation, is it?

10:21And we'll see how that develops now.

10:23Yeah.

10:24Again, Pompey, this is a setback for them in terms of the recruitment.

10:29Bernamein, they've only brought in one player so far in Adrian Segesic.

10:33Like, this development comes at a time when Pompey fans are actually going,

10:37when are we adding to the squad?

10:38Not when are you taking away.

10:40Bernamein, Riley Tyler also left this week.

10:43So, at the moment, there's a bit of an imbalance, one in and a couple of outgoings.

10:47Yeah.

10:48Well, Pompey have known about this for a while.

10:50Pompey, they're obviously at the end of the season, they have talks.

10:55They speak to every player, don't they?

10:56And they sit down.

10:57So, this emerged at the end of the season.

10:59So, Pompey, if you go back to the John Massino interview that he did with us

11:03at the end of the season, where he talks about Matt Ritchie not playing as many,

11:07not starting as many matches.

11:10So, we did a story on this two months ago.

11:13But, obviously, Matt Ritchie's not happy about playing fewer minutes.

11:17And the reaction is that he wants to go somewhere where he can play more minutes.

11:22So, Pompey have had a while to prepare, adjust, and also look in the recruitment market

11:27for another right winger.

11:29So, this hasn't suddenly happened this week.

11:31This happened at the end of last season.

11:33So, obviously, the situation has not been able to be resolved in that time.

11:39And, yeah, it's one of those situations where he's going to go.

11:45And, again, John Massino will address this properly tomorrow.

11:50But it is a shame, isn't it?

11:53But you can actually see it.

11:54I'm not sitting on the fence here.

11:56But you can see it from both sides.

11:58You can see it while Matt Ritchie's upset, considering what he's done.

12:02And you can see it while Pompey wants to change it up in that position moving forward

12:06and not relying on a 36-year-old right winger playing every single match in the championship.

12:11Is there any idea where he might go?

12:14Is he looking at a championship level?

12:16Is he looking abroad?

12:17Is he looking in League One?

12:19What do you think is a reasonable place he'd be playing next season?

12:25The word is that he's looking at the championship.

12:29So, when players are seeking to move on and leave clubs and things,

12:37it's a bit more difficult to gauge about who they're talking to because it's not.

12:42The club haven't got the information themselves.

12:44So, it's a bit different, really.

12:47But also, we're not that much chance to look into it because it's all just broken now, hasn't it?

12:51So, yeah.

12:53So, we're not sure.

12:54But, yeah.

12:55Obviously, loads of fans have spotted he wasn't training here this week.

13:00And now it's come to a head.

13:03And that's the reason why.

13:05Yeah.

13:05Okay.

13:06Well, so, you're out in Slovakia at the minute.

13:09You've been with the guys for, what, three or four days already now.

13:12Is there still that relaxed feeling about John Massino, Rich Hughes, that they've only brought in one player so far?

13:21Is that still the case?

13:22Yeah.

13:22I mean, obviously, they'd like to have brought in more.

13:24You see Rich Hughes around the place constantly on his phone.

13:27So, they're very open about that.

13:32John Massino said in an interview in the news today, it's online, about one transfer is very close.

13:38They're looking at a central midfielder.

13:40Close, it means next week, really.

13:44So, that's what it means by close.

13:46So, that is progressing as well.

13:48But, that is their priority at the moment, two central midfielders there, which is obvious.

13:53I always say this in here.

13:54Some of the things are obvious, isn't it?

13:56What they need.

13:56They need two central midfielders, don't they?

13:58They need two wingers.

14:00For me, they need an attacker.

14:02So, you've got to look at the centre-half.

14:05It's another one, doesn't it?

14:05So, yeah.

14:07I mean, Massino said a few weeks ago he wants five or six new signings, which I think is fair enough, isn't it?

14:12So, yeah.

14:13So, they're progressing, apparently, according to John Massino.

14:16In terms of training, the team has trained so hard, they gave them the day off today.

14:23And, obviously, these days with sports science, they can assess players when they get into the levels of exhaustion and danger levels.

14:32And, they've assessed them and said that they've worked so hard out here that they gave them an impromptu day off today to look after them.

14:41Which is, you know, which is important, isn't it?

14:43But, they'll be back at it again tomorrow.

14:45So, yeah.

14:46We watch the sessions and they all work very, very hard.

14:49So, yeah.

14:50I think it's fascinating because the day before we arrived, the heat was 32 degrees or something like that, which a lot of players said they found very, very difficult.

14:59And then, ever since, there's been torrential rain and overcast.

15:03And, I did say to Marlon, Pat, do you prefer the baking heat, 32 degrees of training, or do you prefer the wind and the rain?

15:11And, he said, I prefer the heat every time.

15:14So, yeah.

15:16You just have to look at his social media.

15:18He spent half a summer in Dubai.

15:19So, he's probably well used to that.

15:21There are those sorts of conditions.

15:22Yeah, some people have different – I think Regan Paul said he quite likes a bit more overcast.

15:28But, yeah.

15:29So, it's –

15:29I reckon if you ask Terry Devlin that question, I can guarantee what he would respond to that.

15:35I bet the Aussie, lads, can't work out what this weather is.

15:42Get used to it, lads.

15:43This is what Europe does to you, like.

15:45So, well, just going back to the imminent signing, there's been a lot of talk this past while about Pele, Mattson.

15:53You also then mentioned that Mark Koznofsky is definitely not coming to Pompey.

15:57So, this new signing emerges amidst a wee bit of chatter along those certain lines, like.

16:04But Koznofsky, as you understand it, is definitely not going to be a fan park next season.

16:09Yeah, and Mattson as well.

16:10That's an absolutely – wasn't it?

16:12Pompey are definitely interested in.

16:14But Norwich are involved now and others are as well.

16:18And there's not too much confidence that that could happen now.

16:23So, Freddie Potts, of course.

16:26John was saying I mentioned him in an interview with us.

16:27He was yesterday.

16:29Is that just John Cena keeping the door open for him?

16:32Or does he really believe that could happen this summer?

16:36I think he's optimistic.

16:39They're currently not talking with West Ham over Potts.

16:43But West Ham will make their decision at the end of the season.

16:47At the end of the preseason.

16:48At the end of the preseason.

16:50About what to do with him.

16:52So, he's adamant it could happen.

16:56A lot of things would need to fall into place.

16:59Yeah.

16:59They'd have to be patient.

17:01I know people don't like being patient for players.

17:03But they would have to be patient.

17:05And there's no guarantee West Ham might want to keep him.

17:08But they're confident that if he did have to go on loan, that they would at least have a conversation with West Ham and Freddie Potts.

17:17That might stand them in good stead because he enjoyed his last season so much.

17:21So, yeah.

17:22It's interesting he's not ruling that out.

17:24Because I think logically that wouldn't happen.

17:25So, we shall see.

17:28But, yeah.

17:30He's not saying it definitely won't happen.

17:32But he's also not saying it definitely will happen.

17:35Yeah.

17:36We've also mentioned that there's a couple of trialists out there with Pompey.

17:39What can we say about them?

17:41Yeah.

17:41So, you've got Nathan Ferguson and Stuart Moore.

17:46Ferguson's been injured for a good number of years, actually.

17:48He started off at West Brom.

17:51He apparently trained with Pompey at the back end of last year as well.

17:54He's not at a club for a while.

17:55So, they're just looking at him, monitoring him.

17:58Big, strong central defender.

18:02Real physical specimen as well in training.

18:05Very noticeable.

18:06And Stuart Moore spoke to me the other day.

18:09Really nice lad.

18:10I'm a white lad.

18:11His brother's a goalkeeper as well.

18:13And, yeah.

18:15He was at Pompey for two years in the youth team alongside the likes of Adam Webster and Dan Butler.

18:20And he was offered a scholarship and he rejected it.

18:24Pompey was a mess at the time financially.

18:26And he went to Reading.

18:27So, he's had a much-traveled, I think is the phrase.

18:31So, he's out here.

18:32And I read a few people sort of saying, oh, why are we signing him?

18:35Pompey aren't signing him.

18:35But, it's just the case of Toby Stewart's gone on loan to St. Johnston.

18:41And they want four goalkeepers on their pre-season tour.

18:44They did the same last year with Cam Plain when he came across.

18:47That's being released from Bournemouth Academy.

18:49There was never a chance of keeping him.

18:51They didn't want to.

18:52But, that's all it is.

18:54It's just a fourth goalie.

18:55It's not Pompey being cheap or anything like that.

18:59That's all it is.

18:59He's helping with training at the moment.

19:02They've clearly got their first three goalkeepers.

19:04Do they want the fourth keeper for the season?

19:07So, that there is, just in case there's something happens?

19:10Or is it, no, the three goalkeepers is the stance they'll have throughout next season?

19:15Well, Moore said he's here initially just for the week.

19:19He was saying that he lives in St. Anne's, Lancashire way.

19:24And the Friday night he was shopping and got a phone call from his agent saying,

19:27Pompey, we want you to go and join them on pre-season.

19:30It's Slovakia the next day.

19:31So, yeah, Saturday morning, he hopped on a flight from Manchester.

19:35And, yeah, he's ended up here, back at the club he was last with 14 years ago

19:40when he was in the academy.

19:42So, yeah.

19:43Yeah, it's a nice story, actually.

19:46He's an Isle of Wight lad from Sandown.

19:48And I was sort of chatting to him about, I said to him,

19:53were you a Pompey fan or a Salander fan from the Isle of Wight?

19:55And I think his dad's a Fulham fan, so I don't think there's anything to worry about in that respect.

20:02But, yeah, he was at Morecambe last year, you know, so, and he's left then, so he's looking for a club at the moment.

20:10And it works for him.

20:12Yeah.

20:12It works for him and Ferguson.

20:14They're here training, getting minutes, helping Pompey out with numbers in the squads.

20:20We'll see how that develops, anyway.

20:22But it's happened a few times in the past where Pompey get players into hell with training

20:25that they don't look to sign.

20:27Yeah.

20:28And just on that basis alone, like, Story could then, or Stuart Moore could then maybe leave

20:34the training camp or whatever.

20:36Whenever Pompey come back in those pre-season penalties,

20:38is the likes of Ferguson going to feature in those?

20:41Or is he just there to have a closer look at them in training or to serve training purposes?

20:45I don't know.

20:46I think Cam Plain came back last year from their training camp,

20:50and he came on for a half against Hamilton and Waterlooville.

20:52And then he disappeared and went to Wimborne and whatever.

20:56So, yeah, so, I don't know.

21:00I don't know the stage.

21:01We'll find out.

21:02But it depends on how many bodies Pompey want around the place, isn't it?

21:06Okay.

21:07Well, obviously, when you're there in Slovakia,

21:11Riley Tyler has departed Pompey.

21:13He's gone to Lincoln.

21:14He's gone to the club.

21:15Just watch your reaction to that.

21:17It was inevitable.

21:18We knew this was going to happen.

21:20But for some reason, I always feel a wee bit for Riley Tyler that, yeah,

21:25he didn't really get the opportunity to really, or did he?

21:28Did he dissap his authority in that their centre-half department?

21:30Well, yeah, I obviously started quite a few games when he arrived initially,

21:33but I've seen a few people say he didn't get the opportunity simply because there were better players ahead of him.

21:38Yeah.

21:40I'm sorry, but Rob Atkinson came in as well, didn't he?

21:43You've got, I know, you've got Shocknessy, Paul, Raggett for that one season when he couldn't get in as well,

21:52was ahead of him.

21:52So, they've had some Hayden Matthews as well.

21:59They've got that centre-half that are better than him.

22:02And he just needed minutes.

22:05He wasn't a regular in the league one title-winning team.

22:08He played six times in the league that season.

22:11So, he was never really going to be a regular in the Championship when they stepped up then.

22:14And he played ten games in the Championship and did well, scored a goal.

22:18Great lad.

22:19He's just not quite, the feeling is he's not quite at that level in the Championship yet.

22:23He's still got time.

22:24He needs regular football.

22:26He sat on the bench for two years.

22:28That's not good for anyone.

22:30I remember speaking to Conor Chapp then when he left and he was just desperate for him.

22:35He had enough of being on the bench.

22:37He was desperate to start.

22:39And you can't, with a defender as well,

22:40you can't throw a defender off for minutes at the end of stretch teams, can you?

22:43So, he needs a lot of Sadie.

22:45Sadie's another one that spoke so eloquently about it the other week to us.

22:50He just wants regular minutes.

22:52He just wants to be involved more.

22:55And where Pompey are, they've moved very quickly in the last two years.

22:59Before John Messino was here, before his first full season,

23:04Pompey weren't even qualifying for the playoffs.

23:06Within two years, they're now an established Championship side.

23:09So, they've moved very, very quickly.

23:11Some players can't quite move as quickly with Pompey.

23:15It's how it works.

23:16That's why Yang is gone.

23:17That's why Sadie's gone.

23:18That's why Towler's gone.

23:20But they've still left with a lot of fondness of the fans.

23:23Rightly so.

23:24Great guys.

23:25Part of a brilliant, brilliant season in League One.

23:28Part of the start of Pompey's ascent.

23:31Got them back into the Championship.

23:32So, Riley will go with everyone's best wishes.

23:35I'm sure he'll do well.

23:35He's a very talented lad.

23:37A lovely lad.

23:38Every single person wants to see him do well.

23:41Okay.

23:41Well, before we send you in with our best wishes on your merry way,

23:45what's next on the agenda, Pompey?

23:48They're flying back on Friday, I believe.

23:50What can we expect between now and Friday now?

23:53So, tomorrow there's the Open Training Session where we were told

23:57about 70-odd Pompey fans have registered that they're going to come along.

24:01So, last year was about 19, 20, 21.

24:05So, that'll be interesting.

24:06So, they're coming for the Open Training Session tomorrow.

24:10Obviously, they would have noticed there's no Colby Bishop.

24:12Sorry, there's no Colby Bishop's here.

24:17Colby Bishop is here.

24:18I've seen people say, where's Colby Bishop?

24:20Colby Bishop's here.

24:22He's here.

24:23He's here with Callum Lang.

24:25They are here.

24:26They are here.

24:29But, yeah.

24:29Sorry.

24:31Yeah.

24:32Obviously, Matt Ritchie's not here and the fans wouldn't notice that tomorrow.

24:35But they'll be watching the train tomorrow and then the fans will meet

24:39the players and the management will meet the fans afterwards.

24:42So, that's what's planned tomorrow.

24:43Again, is that a real chance for the fans to really mingle with the players?

24:48They get the chat?

24:49Yeah.

24:49They spend a good year with them.

24:53Yeah, it was brilliant last year.

24:55I thought the club dealt it very well.

24:57They brought over a drinks bucket with free drinks for the fans in attendance.

25:02They put up parasols and umbrellas.

25:04You don't need any of that here.

25:05It's still raining now.

25:08It's lovely back home here, to be honest.

25:10Oh, dear.

25:12So, they did it very well last year.

25:14And at the end of the session, all the players were encouraged to go and speak

25:17to the fans, mingle with them.

25:19Yangi was chatting to everyone for ages, in particular.

25:22And I thought, fair play on the lad.

25:23You know, it was really nice.

25:25Fans posing photos with the players and the manager.

25:28So, yeah.

25:29It's a nice thing.

25:31I know a lot of fans would want a pre-season friendly abroad.

25:34It's not something that the manager thinks they need.

25:37But it's good they are doing an open training session.

25:41No one's forced to attend.

25:42Come if you want.

25:43And, yeah.

25:44They get to meet the players afterwards.

25:46Which is important.

25:48And, obviously, Pomi kick off their pre-season programme next week.

25:51And you can testify that they're being put through their paces quite hard out there in Slovakia.

25:58Oh, definitely.

25:59Definitely.

26:01I've never seen a team not have a hard pre-season.

26:04And it's even the Paul Cook worked hard, play hard pre-season.

26:10The infamous one in Ireland when I've never seen a team drink so much.

26:14But, boy, did he work them harder than a day.

26:16It truly was work hard, play hard.

26:21And, yeah.

26:22He worked them really, really hard.

26:24So, yeah.

26:24As ever.

26:25But these days, players come back from pre-season fits anyway, don't they?

26:29It's not like the old days where they come back incredibly on fit and it takes a while to build them up.

26:35So, they've got that base.

26:37They've worked on programmes in the pre-season, so in the closed season.

26:41So, they've got that base of fitness anyway.

26:43Yeah.

26:43No, definitely.

26:44Definitely.

26:45Right, Nate.

26:45We've spent enough time with you.

26:47I know you want to get back out.

26:48Just to say one more thing, we spoke to quite a few players, interviewed them all.

26:55Iban Boat, what a lovely lad he is as well.

26:57Really nice lad.

26:59Jordan spoke to him, very eloquent lad.

27:01He did his first full training session yesterday.

27:05Strong.

27:07A lot of blocks in as well.

27:09So, really hope that he's over his injury issues.

27:13And now we can actually see him in pre-season.

27:15Because none of us have seen him play.

27:17So, he got injured 12 days after arriving at the football club.

27:21So, it's the old cliche.

27:22He will be like a new signing.

27:24So, looking forward to that one.

27:25And so, really nice lad.

27:27And I hope he's over that now.

27:28We can see the best of him.

27:29Yeah, no doubt.

27:30It'll be interesting just to see where he is in the pecking order next season in that centre-half position.

27:36Yeah, Nate, thank you so much for your time.

27:37Let you crack on.

27:38Let you get back into the company with Joe Messino and the players.

27:42Enjoy the trip.

27:43And safe travels back home.

27:45See you all later.

27:45Goodbye.

27:46Bye.

27:47Bye.

27:48Bye.

27:49Bye.

27:50Bye.

27:51Bye.

27:52Bye.

27:53Bye.

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