Sun is shining and Guy is pleased on players' return

It was the first day of a bright, new dawn for Pompey.
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Guy Whittingham131840-4032_POMPEY_TRAINING
Guy Whittingham
131840-4032_POMPEY_TRAINING Guy Whittingham

New players, new training ground, new club, new start.

And Guy Whittingham was pleased with how the first tentative steps of the new regime on the pitch unfolded.

His squad of 17 players were supplemented by five members from the development squad and two triallists.

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With the sun shining on a tidy temporary set-up at St John’s College playing fields in Farlington, Whittingham was encouraged with how it went.

He said: ‘I’d like to think there was a good feel about it.

‘You are never quite sure how it is going to go on the first day.

‘It was good to see the players getting on.

‘They all seemed happy enough and enthusiastic about pre-season and the season starting.

‘The set-up was fine for us, too. It was a good surface and full of grass. There weren’t many bobbles about it either, so that was great.

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‘We’ll be happy to be there and grateful to be able to use the pitch.’

Seeing a full squad of players for the first day of training was a world away from recent years, when as few as eight men have been present.

Whittingham said: ‘We had three groups of eight out there for the drills, which is fantastic.

‘We had the development group and a couple of triallists.

‘It’s what you want to see on the first day back.

‘I’ve got to thank the people who allowed us to get the players in early.

‘Everyone saw it was imperative to have that this season.

‘We wanted to have the ability to get it sorted and get off to a good start.

‘That is vital if you want to be a success.’

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