Jordan Cross and Neil Allen report back from Pompey's pre-season training camp in Croatia.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Pompey Talk. I'm your host Mark McMahon and
00:06joining me today from sunny Croatia is Neil Allen and Jordan Cross. You guys are away
00:12pre-season training, enjoying the lovely sunshine with us back here at the dim and gloom of
00:19southern England. How yous doing?
00:22One big jolly.
00:23Is it raining where you are?
00:24It's not, but that's about the first time in about five hours it's not been raining.
00:30So, yes, lucky you guys.
00:3433 degrees at the moment. We're in the hotel lobby and thank heavens the aircon is working.
00:44It was very, very toasty up at the training facility today. Great facility for Pompey.
00:51But yeah, we had to kind of take cover, didn't we? Didn't we, Neil?
00:55We're very lucky. They've got a couple of gazebos up and the various dugouts as well
01:00which you can sit in. It's one of the best sheltered grounds we've been to actually.
01:05Sometimes you go pre-season. I've been to Photo Island and there's been absolutely
01:09nothing at all to protect you. But here it's fine. It's very well organised in fairness.
01:15The two gazebos are big gazebos as well, so it's brilliantly organised.
01:20We played that friendly last year in Malaga. It was just in the middle of nowhere,
01:26absolutely zero cover, no 4G. I was kind of taking cover behind a dugout,
01:31which was not giving us any respite whatsoever, trying to look at the screen
01:36and try and do a live vlog through the sun. So, no excellent facilities here.
01:42I know both of you have done individual videos for the website, but do you want to tell us
01:47exactly why Croatia? What's that facility got to offer and why has Pompeii been drawn to it?
01:54It's interesting because the process is very thorough.
01:59So, two people came to look at the site in April, I think it was,
02:04and then John Messina and John Harley came out as well a few months after that
02:10just to make sure it's the right place and they can cater for all their needs
02:14in terms of food, facilities, the pitches, and also the theory was that Croatia
02:21would be cooler than Spain was last year, Malaga was last year.
02:25What a silly notion!
02:28It's not quite the case, it's still very, very hot.
02:31But we were talking about this earlier, I think it's one of the best hotels I've stayed in
02:36for a Pompeii pre-season tour. It's very good and it's right in the centre of town as well.
02:42You can walk to the harbour. The players last night went out to the harbour,
02:47sat outside, had a meal together, obviously no alcohol, just enjoying it.
02:53So, it's a brilliant location for them all.
02:57What about right in the centre, without giving away the destination,
03:00is it a family hotel? There's families going about their summer holidays
03:04and all of a sudden there's these football players walking past them all the time?
03:08Yeah, absolutely. It's exactly what it is. I think what we've all been saying is
03:14we'd love to bring our families here. It's just beautiful.
03:17You've got the beach with a nice run of players.
03:21We've been doing a 5k run most mornings from the hotel along the promenade
03:27and it goes out to a spit quite a long distance out and then there's a loop
03:32that comes round through, kind of like a Euro camp park with woodland and caravans
03:38and lots of facilities. It's like some sort of setting for an American teen movie or something.
03:43It comes back and then you've got the stony beach and a succession of nice,
03:49it's not kind of your Brits Abroad, Spain bars and restaurants.
03:53They're all quite nice establishments and it goes down into the marina area.
04:00It's a really, really nice facility. We wouldn't say exactly where the pitches are,
04:04but they're not a million miles away from where we are.
04:07There's another Euro camp place, but they've got kind of six or seven pitches.
04:14They tend to focus on a couple, but it's mainly used by Austrian and German
04:20second and third tier teams, so a decent level.
04:23They also host age group international tournaments out here,
04:26so you can get a good feel for what the facility's like.
04:31It's kind of like when you go on a holiday, we speak to Richie,
04:33he's obviously Pomp and Circumstance director, and he kind of said,
04:35it's like what you're looking for. You're looking for your environment,
04:37you're looking for your food, and you're looking for your facilities.
04:40If you tick those boxes, then you normally tend to have a good experience on a holiday.
04:44Similar for that, obviously, with the players, they've got great food.
04:48They've got their chef out here, but the food is absolutely on point.
04:51Gym facilities, fantastic. Indoor swimming pool, outdoor swimming pool.
04:55The pitches, the pitches are good. They're well watered, they're well looked after.
04:58So, just box ticks all the way along.
05:00So, well done for the lads that did the recce, as Neil said, back in April.
05:03I think John came out. Was it with John Harley, Neil?
05:06I can't remember.
05:07Yeah, yeah.
05:08Yeah, so do you remember the England age group tournament that Abu scored in
05:12against Sweden? I think that was out here.
05:14They came out to watch that, and then came down to look at the hotel,
05:16and asked Annie Nell, the secretary, and people came out and gave it a green light.
05:22And you can see why they have, because it's absolutely spot on.
05:25It's interesting because last year's one in Malaga was a lovely golf club area hotel.
05:33It was in the middle of nowhere, so at night, you couldn't go anyway.
05:37You just stuck there, unless you ordered a taxi.
05:40And the previous year, under Danny Cowley as well, it was sort of the outskirts,
05:44wasn't it, where they stayed in the hotel as well, in Spain.
05:49On the periphery, it was a long walk to go anywhere, really.
05:54This one, we're right in the heart of it, and it's a lovely area.
05:57Very leafy, very green, full of parks.
06:00There's football pitches around, people playing.
06:03It's just a lovely, lovely area.
06:06It's very rare you can stay out of a pre-season with no golf course involved,
06:10actually, but there isn't. There's not any golf course around here.
06:13And the players have gone nice walks at night.
06:16You can do that. It's very good.
06:19Two years ago, it took us five nights to find a pub,
06:25and we haven't had such trouble this time around.
06:28Well, I was going to say, I can hear the waitresses moving glasses
06:31as if they've just been picking up off the last night's shenanigans.
06:35But, yeah, we all know it's probably there for a serious reason.
06:41Can you give us a wee bit of an insight into actually what they're doing
06:45and how hard they're being worked out there at the moment?
06:48Yeah, I mean, the one thing you always get in pre-season is,
06:52oh, the players are being worked really hard.
06:55I can think back to Ian Foster telling me in kind of 2007,
06:59the players, you know, with Paul Cook's side,
07:02the players are being really worked hard in Ireland.
07:04And then it turned out that it was actually, I think I used the term,
07:07it was like a stag do that pre-season.
07:09It was crazy, crazy, crazy, you know, week or so,
07:14but method in the madness because they won the league that season.
07:17But they are, I would think, other than Danny Cowley's pre-season in Mercia,
07:23where they really did slog the players almost too much,
07:27I would say, yeah, in terms of the intensity of the work,
07:31it's probably really up there.
07:33They're obviously careful not to sort of smash the players in effectively,
07:36but they're doing, they're up at 7am every morning so far.
07:40So, they came out on the Friday night, 2am.
07:43They went up to Luton, had a 2am alarm call, flew from 6am Luton,
07:47came over and had a light first day, just a kind of light gym session.
07:51But since then, it's been 7am, 5k run, leading into a very intense morning session.
07:59So far, the ones, they kind of were scheduled to do 80 minutes
08:03and they've gone on for over two hours on both occasions.
08:07And they are worked incredibly hard.
08:10They kind of do it, set it up across two pitches.
08:12Then they do four blocks.
08:14So, they may start with a bit of a warm-up,
08:16then go into like a 3v2 possession stuff or, you know,
08:20the kind of classic rondos that, you know, you see that Pep brought into our shores.
08:27And then, yeah, leading into various different pieces.
08:31But today, they had a very intense game to finish the session off.
08:35So, that's kind of the basis for the morning session.
08:38And then it's been different in the afternoon.
08:40It might be the gym session or a tactical session.
08:43So, kind of walking through game idea, literally kind of on a pitch.
08:47You stand there, you stand there.
08:48We're going to focus on this element of how we want to play out or press.
08:53It might be a bit boring for some of the players
08:55because they're going to stand around as John kind of impresses his idea,
08:58but more of a focus on that kind of thing in the afternoon.
09:00So, it will vary from day to day.
09:02But, of course, with no game out here, they can keep that intensity up.
09:05They don't have to taper in for a game, which they would normally have to do
09:08if that was the case.
09:10So, they're working really hard all the way through.
09:12And I think that's going to be the case until they return on Friday.
09:16Now, Jordi Madsen, no game out there.
09:18Does it feel strange, both for you and the players even,
09:21that there is no game?
09:24What was strange is that we bumped into Bansi's bus.
09:31Wow, what's going on there?
09:33We bumped into Bansi's bus on the way out.
09:35They came in our flight and they were telling us the rumours
09:38that there's a pre-season friendly.
09:41And they were telling us their taxi driver had also told them
09:44there was a pre-season friendly.
09:46Charlotteton of a taxi driver to come up with that rumour, wasn't it?
09:49His name's Mark Moody.
09:51Mark Moody was the taxi driver.
09:53It's a true story.
09:55A former key in Express FM, Mark Moody, told them there'll be a game up here.
10:01And we saw it on the app, wasn't it?
10:02He said, here's one for you.
10:04Here's one for you.
10:06I shouldn't tell you, but they were convinced there was still a game,
10:11despite everyone saying there isn't.
10:13And it's like, no, there is no game.
10:15And they're winking going, really?
10:17No, there's no game.
10:19So, yes, there is no game, despite people claiming the contrary.
10:24One of the reasons why there is no game is there's not a great appetite
10:29from Rich Hughes or John Massey.
10:33They'd rather focus on training for this week.
10:39There's other issues about they couldn't really play any other English teams
10:46because of police issues and all sorts like that.
10:48So, yes, they are keeping it quiet where the location is.
10:53And I said on the video this morning that Wednesday, after training Wednesday,
10:57they will inform everybody where the open training session is taking place
11:03on Thursday for fans to attend.
11:05So that's going to be announced probably around 12, 1 o'clock on Wednesday.
11:10But some fans have worked out where it is.
11:12We're not allowed to say where it is.
11:14But some fans have worked out where it is and sort of snuck in there.
11:17Including three fans yesterday who were from the local area.
11:20One was from Waterlooville, actually.
11:22And they booked this as a holiday back in November.
11:25And by complete coincidence, Pompey are here.
11:28So they came to sort of watch it a little bit before being moved on yesterday.
11:32So we've seen a few Pompey fans, not loads, though.
11:35Yeah.
11:36Geordie, I'm just going to go down this route.
11:39As a pale, fair-haired Irishman, I would struggle not to tell me
11:44how's Terry Devlin getting on?
11:48There's a lot of talk about Factor 50 when we talk to Terry Devlin.
11:54Yeah.
11:55That's the one example.
11:57He's been sticking his Factor 50 on religiously.
12:00I've got up for a chat with Terry yesterday.
12:04But he needs it.
12:05Yeah.
12:06Paddy Lane's in the danger zone as well, I would suggest.
12:12Yeah.
12:13They're lapping it on.
12:15And, yeah, you need it as well, as I say.
12:18I mean, I'm really getting pushed through these sessions and worked hard.
12:22As I say, it is pretty relentless.
12:24I stupidly, stupidly went for a 5K run yesterday at half three in the afternoon.
12:29And I was in bits by the time I got back.
12:33I was really struggling.
12:34I'm not as fit as I thought I was.
12:36But I kind of was wobbling a bit when I got back to the room.
12:39And, yeah, I won't be doing that in future.
12:42It's pretty steamy at 7 o'clock in the morning, let alone in the glaring heat of the day.
12:48So, yeah, I think it's going to remain wobbly.
12:51I mean, it's staying at 33 degrees for the rest of the week.
12:55So, yeah, it's going to be a challenge.
12:58Mark, I can give you an exclusive.
13:00Mark, Mark, I can give you an exclusive, though.
13:02What's up?
13:03Pompey had two trialists today playing.
13:08We're not allowed to play about that, Neil.
13:11Have we got permission, Neil?
13:13Have we got permission?
13:15Well, yeah, two trialists.
13:18One of them fell over and hurt himself.
13:20He got exposed a bit.
13:22Yeah, two trialists.
13:24John Massino played centre-half in a game alongside Riley Towler.
13:29And Zesh Raymond played centre-half alongside Connor Shotmansoor.
13:35And Zesh's team is very proud of this.
13:37Zesh's team won as well.
13:39Very good.
13:40They filled in.
13:41That's because, obviously, reading Paul's work isn't fit yet.
13:45There's four centre-halves contracted at Pompey.
13:47So, Regan's doing his separate work.
13:49He's kicking the ball today as well.
13:51And Tom McIntyre's just got a slight knock to his left knee.
13:55Nothing to worry about.
13:57Nothing to worry about.
13:59He completed training yesterday.
14:01He didn't train today.
14:02He might train tomorrow, but it's just a slight minor.
14:05So, they only had two centre-halves available for his full-size game.
14:09So, the two former centre-halves volunteered.
14:12And they looked very assured, didn't they?
14:14They looked very assured.
14:16No future for you.
14:18No business for you.
14:20So, they did very well.
14:23But, yeah, Zesh's team won.
14:25I suppose that does highlight an important factor that, yes,
14:30while the guys are going through their paces,
14:33there's recruitment still to be needed.
14:35And, obviously, centre of defence is something that they need to be looking at.
14:39Yeah, I mean, they've got 25 out here.
14:44They've got a good group of keepers.
14:47They've got a young Childish keeper out here as well.
14:50But they are content with the group size at the moment with five through the door.
14:55But, obviously, you've seen from our stories,
14:57they're saying that they're happy to be patient now.
14:59But, obviously, I think most of the best free agents have now been picked up,
15:02it's fair to say.
15:04And now the evolution of the window is now we're moving towards fiends
15:08and then probably bones towards the end of the window.
15:12But in terms of the squad, it seems, from what John's saying,
15:15is that they're happy with their lot at the moment.
15:18But then they're going to try and get the trio of non-league games out of the way.
15:22And then they're going to be honest about whether these players can contribute in the championship.
15:26There may be a couple that don't really want to tick the box.
15:30They want everyone to be competing for a place in the first team.
15:32They don't want to carry any bodies.
15:33So, I think what you might find out is after that quickfire double against Bogdan
15:38and having it more to lose, though, you might see a couple of players told,
15:41you know, get yourself sorted out and you won't be stopping in your way
15:44if you can fix yourself up with clubs where you can pick up games on.
15:47Wherever those players go, it might not be quite that simple, isn't it?
15:50I was going to say, they can't stop walking up.
15:52They've paid money, haven't they?
15:54Yeah.
15:55Gavin White being an example, we all know about.
15:57He was a premium player, wasn't he?
15:59He came in, hasn't quite lived up to expectations.
16:01Gavin's a lovely, lovely guy, by the way.
16:03You know, he's great around the place.
16:05But you have to suspect that, you know, the market might be open to Gavin.
16:11But can anyone get to pay those wages?
16:13I would very much doubt it.
16:15I wouldn't totally write it off, but maybe we'd have to take a hit on that contribution.
16:20But it's a tough one, isn't it?
16:21Because, you know, Pompeo now in the championship and Gavin, ultimately,
16:24he didn't do it and leave one level last season.
16:26So, where's the market for Gavin?
16:29Where could he possibly go?
16:31Tough one, that.
16:33Yeah.
16:34So, like, on the subject of transfers and all that,
16:37while the guys are training, Rich Hughes is there,
16:40walking around the pitch, I take it, with a phone in hand,
16:43waiting for any opportunity that strikes?
16:46Yeah, definitely.
16:47He's been very, very busy.
16:48Yeah, you normally see a phone glued to his ear.
16:50But, yeah, the training, it's a ritual,
16:54him walking around the pitch with a phone to his ear.
16:57So, yeah, still lots of work to do.
17:00It's obvious, we're saying this, they know it as well.
17:03The squad still needs considerable strengthening for me.
17:06They need a centre-half, they need a couple of central midfielders.
17:09They might want to look at the left-back area.
17:12They want another goalie.
17:14I think they're quite satisfied with the wingers at the moment.
17:18So, yeah, and right back's another place as well, isn't it?
17:22So, there's still plenty to look at.
17:24That was an interesting one.
17:25I didn't think that would be, that surprised me,
17:27with Jordan Archer coming in.
17:28But I guess it's with the likelihood that Toby Stewart would need
17:33another development line.
17:34They obviously rate Toby very, very highly.
17:40You think you've disappeared, Jordan?
17:42Are you still learning?
17:43Oh, is he?
17:44Yeah, I'm sorry.
17:45Funny enough, I interviewed Joe Perdomo a few hours ago.
17:48He was explaining to me this, about how they want three goalkeepers.
17:51Because if you have one of your two goalies get injured,
17:54it exposes you completely and you can't have a goalie.
17:56You wouldn't have a goalie on the bench.
17:58Because they want to loan out Toby Stewart to get regular first-team football.
18:02So, he'll be loaned out for that, which would be fantastic.
18:07Because he had a great season at Gosport.
18:09He's a real exciting prospect.
18:12I think Joe was saying that he's 19, is Toby,
18:15and he's played 85 games already.
18:17Which for a goalkeeper is a hell of a lot.
18:21They've currently got this lad from Bournemouth.
18:23He's not trialling, he's just helping them on tour.
18:26He's 22 and he hasn't played too many games at all.
18:30So, just on that note alone, are you saying then that,
18:33yeah, that guy's not there as a trialist then?
18:36He's literally there to help out a bit?
18:38No, no.
18:39Right, okay.
18:40I wrote a story on that yesterday and I didn't call him a trialist.
18:43He's just there.
18:44It's like a reciprocal thing, really.
18:46He's there to help the team out.
18:48Joe Prodomo knows him from Bournemouth.
18:51And he gets the benefit of...
18:55Oh, where is he? Is he here now?
18:56I'll be back in a minute, honest!
19:00And the goalkeeper gets the benefit of first-team training, doesn't he?
19:05Yeah, so they're looking for another goalkeeper as well.
19:09So, there's still plenty of spots, but they're aware of it.
19:12I know a lot of fans saying, sign players, sign players.
19:15They are aware of it and they are still looking.
19:18They need some big players as well, really, don't they?
19:21Because this is a championship now, let's face it.
19:23So, yeah, is that the vibe you're getting?
19:26That there's still a lot of work going on behind the scenes?
19:29Pompey are far from finished in the transfer market.
19:32There's a lot of work still to be done.
19:34Yeah, there's plenty of work to be done.
19:36Obviously, not as much as last summer because they need a complete overhaul
19:40and they've got the foundations in place here, haven't you?
19:42And they're very strong in some positions and they've added five already.
19:47So, yeah, there's still plenty of work to be done and they realise that
19:51and they are looking and exploring avenues.
19:54How's those five new arrivals settling into the group?
19:57Is there signs there that everything's going smoothly?
20:02Yeah, the lad from Middlesbrough, Silveri, he did get a slap in mine
20:06while I'm packing training today.
20:07Mine fell on him.
20:10Poor lad.
20:12Poor lad and he was crushed on the floor and he was on the floor for a bit
20:15as we got to it.
20:17It was entirely accidental, really.
20:19But Jordan Williams caught the eye today, actually.
20:22Andy Mooney over here from Solent.
20:24And Jordan Williams really caught the eye today.
20:26Some excellent interceptions, just nipping in to get the ball
20:31and then he's driving forward with the ball as well, with purpose.
20:36So, he caught the eye today as well.
20:40It's just difficult.
20:41It's still early days for the players in training.
20:44You know, I'm sure Gassan Ahamed was brilliant in training
20:50as well as Fred Liz.
20:53He didn't quite work out, so let's see them in matches.
20:56But, yeah, so they are all involved as well
21:00and obviously Jordan Archer's training as well.
21:02Anybody caught your eye, Jordan?
21:04Talking of Jordan, what about his sound effects there?
21:09Jordan, any players that caught your eye so far when you're out there?
21:14They've actually stepped up a level.
21:16You can see it already from last season.
21:18Yeah, I think, yeah, watching Jordan Williams today,
21:22the driving runs that really, really caught the eye,
21:25picking the ball up from deep and powering forward,
21:27that's what have recruited him.
21:28They think he's more athletic than what they had before
21:32and on the evidence we've seen so far, yeah, you can see why.
21:35A little dark horse, he will go out on loan,
21:38but Ruben Swann, obviously a young lad to turn up from AFC Sudbury,
21:41that kind of step three, and he's not looked out of place.
21:45You know, he's not looked out of place at all.
21:47He's quite a thick-set young lad.
21:49He's got a good size.
21:50He's got the tools definitely to be a player, I would suggest.
21:55So, yeah, he's been good to watch
21:57and it's quite a good story, isn't it, for him?
21:59You know, kind of knocked back by Colchester
22:01and then I think he's at Ipswich as a youngster now
22:04and now he's come through and, yeah,
22:06I'd have a story for him to be stepping up.
22:08He impressed on trial at the end of last year,
22:11meniscus knee injury, and then come back.
22:14But the other person that's been brought,
22:16not so much icing that you hear about in pre-season,
22:18I think Riley Taylor's having a good pre-season
22:20and you do, and I will do a story from John Massino about this,
22:24is he speaks about players that you would anticipate
22:28might go out on loan or, you know,
22:31sometimes they play themselves into the picture.
22:34And, you know, if you're going to pick anyone of that nature,
22:37at the moment, it might be Riley, from what you hear.
22:39I mean, he's great around the place.
22:41I haven't paid too much attention,
22:43but just kind of people like Rich Hughes sort of saying
22:45he's made a good impression.
22:47Was there going to be a development?
22:48Well, you know, they've spoke about it, but maybe not now.
22:52So, it's kind of a bit more up in the air, it seems,
22:54than what it was kind of, how it was being spoken about
22:57a month, six weeks ago.
22:59I know when, at the end of last season,
23:01John Massino talking about pre-season,
23:03the importance of it and transfers and all that there,
23:06he did stipulate that everybody would be given a chance
23:09in pre-season to show their worth ahead of the Championship.
23:14Was that, was he being serious?
23:17Or, like, is Riley Taylor an example where,
23:19no, if you turn up in this pre-season tour
23:21and you deliver the goods,
23:23then any preconceptions are out the door?
23:27Yeah, when you look at Centre Half,
23:29they've only got three available Centre Halves.
23:31So, some of these friendlies,
23:34were they going to put Ogilvy there, perhaps?
23:36I don't know.
23:38Well, John Massino.
23:40Well, those two Trollis.
23:41Yeah, get them in there as well, isn't it?
23:44So, yeah.
23:46It would be fascinating to see how they rotate everyone
23:49and give everyone a chance.
23:52Fenton McPhail's an interesting one.
23:53Marlon's an obvious starter.
23:55Will they put Conor Ogilvy centre-back?
23:58We don't know.
23:59It's like Conor's just walked past.
24:04So, yeah, it's an interesting one.
24:08And, again, we'll see these new players in full action,
24:11won't we, as well, in these matches,
24:12which is what you want to see, isn't it?
24:14Have you been able to see up close yet
24:16what George Murphy's going to bring to the equation next season?
24:20Obviously, at the minute, he's the marquee signing.
24:23A lot of focus will be on him.
24:25What's he been like in training?
24:27He's not got an ounce of fat on him.
24:29He's absolutely ripped.
24:33He looks the part in terms of physicality.
24:38Again, just what you would expect.
24:40He looks quick, quick and direct.
24:43But, yeah, yesterday, there was a bit of standing around him
24:46as they did the tactical walkthroughs,
24:48him and Cassini-Yengi,
24:49and they weren't doing too much still
24:50to focus on the defensive side of things.
24:53But, yeah, just around the place, he looks the part.
24:58And, again, they say it every season,
25:00other players are in great shape,
25:01but that's the noise that everyone's been making,
25:03how pleased they are that they've come back
25:05in this physically really impressive shape.
25:08But I guess the days of players kind of going away for two weeks
25:11and eating and drinking and partying on the pounce,
25:14that's kind of a thing of the past.
25:16They do their runs, don't they,
25:18and they stay in good nick,
25:20and they're not going to get rid of 5kg or something.
25:24They're all in very, very good condition
25:26when they come back to then sort of step up the intensity.
25:30I know for Marlon Pack, for example,
25:32he had a good summer, he went to the Maldives,
25:34a couple of really nice holidays,
25:36but he was out running most days as well.
25:38You can tell looking at him in training as well,
25:40he's really fit.
25:42That's really, I mean,
25:44what got really stressed, the intensity,
25:46they really, I mean,
25:48hopefully it's come across with the videos that we've taken,
25:52because we've done a lot of videos so far,
25:54but they really are up for it in training.
25:56Marlon, he sets the tone,
25:58he sets the standard for what's expected.
26:01But yeah, I didn't have a bleeper out on the video footage we took yesterday,
26:06but we should have had it,
26:07because there was a few Fs and Jeffs along the way.
26:10But they really care,
26:13they kind of pair up into different teams
26:16and they're really at it and they really want to win.
26:19And again, the intensity of the game really caught all round today in that heat.
26:23It was like, wow, they're really going for it.
26:26It's been really noticeable that.
26:28Actually, it's also worth saying Christian Sadie,
26:31who struggled with fitness when he came this time last year,
26:34badly, he's so fit now.
26:38Yeah.
26:40He used to be at the back of all the running, didn't he?
26:42Not anymore.
26:43I actually remember you standing out there last year, yeah.
26:47And not anymore.
26:49His fitness is absolutely spot on.
26:52We should show you how much he's developed as well.
26:56Who's at the back of the group this year?
27:00Oh, I don't know, because they've run in a line.
27:05I can reveal who's at the back of the queue.
27:08It's Ali now, the club secretary.
27:11He's at the back of the queue when it comes to the running.
27:13He's a decent size, is Ali, but he's a dark horse as well.
27:17He's got a clay tennis court here and he's out there with Jarrod,
27:21one of the analyst staff.
27:23We were playing for a good couple of hours at sunset the other day,
27:26burning a sweat on them.
27:28But yeah, Ali's at the back.
27:30Fair play to him getting out with those players,
27:32because you only stand to make yourself look like a mug, really,
27:35with players like that.
27:36Their fitness is good on him.
27:38He's at the back of the pack.
27:40Right.
27:41So, just tell me then, the club secretary's there,
27:45the sporting director's there.
27:48Is there any transfer stuff going on at Pauline?
27:52Are these boys out for a jolly themselves?
27:55Whoa, Ali!
27:57Can we expect any new signings to join them out there?
28:02What was that question, sorry?
28:03Can we expect any new signings to join the group out there?
28:07There's been positive noises made about signings.
28:11When you ask Johnny, nothing imminent,
28:15but he's got that look on his face and he's trying to read between the lines.
28:20And then things like Rich Hughes, you're trying to judge his mood.
28:26He goes off on the phone and he comes back and his mood's changed.
28:29Is that a good thing?
28:30Was that a bad thing?
28:31Am I reading too much into this?
28:34But when we've asked those questions,
28:37there's been positive noises about things are moving on a couple.
28:42And again, even when I spoke to Andy Cullen,
28:44who's pretty reserved about signings normally,
28:47last time I spoke to him, he was kind of like,
28:49no, things are moving.
28:50We've got to have a steady stream soon.
28:52And so they are.
28:53But yeah, as we sort of said, it's kind of an evolution now, isn't it?
28:57You've got players, they've got the good lines that they wanted
29:01in Williams and Murphy.
29:03And now you're kind of looking at players who have got a freeze.
29:07Who's that?
29:09That's Riley Towler.
29:11Riley Towler, what a man.
29:13All right, mate, yeah.
29:15Can I have my interview, please?
29:17How long?
29:20I'll see you.
29:22I've got another interview in the can.
29:24Are you live?
29:25Are you live?
29:26You haven't sought permission there, Jordy.
29:29Don't be speaking to him.
29:31No comment.
29:32No comment.
29:34The police will be out looking for you.
29:36Anyway, before I start saying things I shouldn't be saying,
29:39I'll let this crack on.
29:42These interviews look like these are very relaxed out there.
29:45You've no work to be doing, so don't let me stop you.
29:49Hold on a minute.
29:50Hold on a minute.
29:51Did you just say that?
29:53When I'm feeding a digital monster with all our stories,
29:57plus a stream of videos, plus a live stream,
30:00we've teed up a Q&A for John Massino as well for you,
30:03and you're saying that to us.
30:05Yes, I know.
30:06Is there any more details on that there?
30:08Can we let the viewers see when we'll be speaking to John Massino
30:11live on the website?
30:13Don't put a date on it, but promote it.
30:15Get your questions in to John Massino.
30:17We've got John's agreed to do a Q&A,
30:19so he wants to answer all your questions.
30:21So I would dare say what we are now,
30:23I think it would be probably maybe tomorrow.
30:27It would be Wednesday or Thursday.
30:29Wednesday or Thursday.
30:32I forgot what day it is.
30:33What day is it?
30:34Tuesday, isn't it?
30:35Tuesday, yeah.
30:36Yeah, it'd be tomorrow or Thursday, isn't it?
30:38It'd be Wednesday or Thursday, yeah,
30:39whenever you can fit us into a busy schedule.
30:42On that note, in all seriousness,
30:44we've been afforded fantastic access here to be able to do these videos,
30:48do things like Q&A.
30:50It informs our work.
30:52We build relationships with new faces,
30:54which then ultimately helps the reader because we're more informed.
30:58They get to hear more.
30:59So very appreciative to Pompeo,
31:01and we realise how lucky we are for this.
31:03They let us watch everything.
31:06We're not allowed to film tactical sessions or take pictures,
31:09but everything else we're invited to come along and watch.
31:13We say we just speak to players alike,
31:15so I've spoken to seven players so far.
31:17So it's brilliant.
31:18It's lovely having a chat with Regan Paul.
31:20We find out how he is and how he's coming on with his injury.
31:23We're very, very fortunate that the club are that approachable
31:26and open to us as well.
31:27It's really, really good.
31:29No, definitely, definitely.
31:31Fair play to Pompeo.
31:32They don't have to invite us out there,
31:34but they do every year.
31:35And as always, we appreciate it.
31:37Well done, Pompeo Medium and Max Swarton for playing his part in that.
31:41We really appreciate it.
31:43Well done, Max, indeed.
31:45Right.
31:46Okay, lads, well, thank you again.
31:48Keep up the good work.
31:50Stick the Zone Factor 50 on and behave yourselves more now, eh?
31:55We'll see you all again soon.
31:57Thank you and goodbye.