‘It’s brilliant exposure’ – Moneyfields boss Turnbull welcomes former Portsmouth star Brett Pitman into the Wessex League

He admits Portchester’s audacious swoop for the striker with almost 200 career professional goals to his name provides ‘brilliant exposure’ for non-league football in the south region.

Turnbull has strengthened his squad this summer with proven Wessex Premier experience in striker Callum Laycock, defender Jack Lee, midfielder Harry Sargeant and keeper Tom Price.

But despite those new faces, he knows Moneys won’t be among the favourites to win the title in 2022/23.

Instead, he believes two PO postcode rivals should be fighting it out amongst themselves to finish top and claim the one automatic promotion place to the Southern League.

‘Horndean and Portchester should be the runaways and everyone else should be playing catch-up to those two,’ Turnbull told The News.

‘Horndean put themselves in a great position last season and they’ve brought in new players.

‘Now Portchester have signed Brett Pitman, that’s got to be the biggest signing the league has ever seen. Coming from League One, that’s a hell of a drop - but it’s brilliant exposure for the league. It should raise the playing standards.

‘You can’t not be excited.’

Regarding Portchester, Turnbull added: ‘It’s not just Brett Pitman, look at the other players Portchester have signed - like Ashton Leigh.

‘The squad Dave had was already full of Southern League players - Jake Raine, Marley Ridge - and now he’s got quality in every position.’

Moneyfields lifted the curtain on their pre-season fixtures with an 8-1 win at Hampshire Premier Leaguers Paulsgrove.

In a game featuring three 45-minute ‘halves’, Turnbull used 31 players. And that list didn’t include the unavailable Steve Hutchings, Josh Hazell, Danny Burroughs and Sam Richards, plus the injured Corey Heath, Elliott Turnbull and Callum McGeorge. In addition, Price is unable to play at the moment following a thyroid operation.

The manager’s son could be out for a prolonged spell due to requiring an operation on a groin injury.

James Franklyn, meanwhile, played 45 minutes at Paulsgrove, his first game since early February due to a groin problem. Chad Cornwell – normally a right wing back – was later deployed in Franklyn’s No 10 role behind the front two strikers, scoring twice.

There were run-outs for Laycock - who opened the scoring - Lee and Sargeant, and a first appearance for newly-signed teenage keeper Bailey Neil who played in two of the three 45-minute games.

Neil, who made several first team appearances for Baffins last season, has linked up again with goalkeeping coach Alex Hards, who held the same role at Rovers under former boss Shaun Wilkinson.

Neil’s arrival leaves Moneys with five keepers - Price, McGeorge, Richards and Ash Farrell being the others. Turnbull admits one could well leave on loan at some point in 2022/23.

Moneys travel to Whitehawk FC in Sussex next Saturday to face a Dulwich Hamlet XI (1pm) with Hawks’ National League South rivals also playing the host club at 3pm.

Turnbull takes his squad to Hereford a week later to face Westfields - a club he knows well from his US Portsmouth days - and will look to slim numbers down by the time Moneys face Arundel on July 23.

Moneys open their Wessex League season on August 2 with a mouthwatering trip to Horndean. They will be without midfielder Callum Glen, who is serving a two-game ban after being sent off in the first half of May’s Portsmouth Senior Cup final loss to Gosport Borough.