Gareth Evans reveals preparation concerns ahead of possible Portsmouth return to action

The Blues are awaiting to discover whether their promotion bid will resume, either through fulfilling their remaining League One games or holding a play-off programme.

Players have continued to carry out fitness work during the lockdown, yet it has been almost two-and-a-half months since Pompey were last in action, with a 2-2 draw against Fleetwood.

In addition, they have not trained together as a squad since March 13.

Evans is concerned the players will not be ready for competitive football, despite maintaining fitness programmes.

And he believes facing opposition in friendly matches before a possible relaunch is essential.

He said: ‘Normally during a pre-season, you have a couple of weeks building up before the first lot of friendlies, which are two or three games of 45 minutes each.

‘However, this time, you’re going to have to try to get as fit as you possibly can and, after 3-4 weeks, then go straight into a competitive fixture. That has never been done before.

‘I feel I’m in really good shape, but you can’t get match fit without playing games. It will be difficult going straight into competitive football having not played practice matches.

‘You cannot replicate the fitness you get on a football pitch, it’s totally different. The only fitness we’ve been able to do is running around doing laps of wherever we live, which is a million miles from the fitness required to play football.

‘We’re going to need a mini pre-season of three weeks, possibly longer than that, and then it’s a case of going straight into a competitive fixture without having practice games.

‘In terms of ball work, you can’t replicate receiving a pass on the half turn and pushing off, especially in a competitive situation. This is the longest I have ever been without kicking a ball.

‘I think it will take a number of weeks for lads to get into the swing of playing football, especially at a professional level. It’s not a quick process.’

Since the lockdown, Evans has largely maintained his fitness through running near his Knowle home.

And he’s ready for the ramping up the routine as football gazes towards a possible return.

He added: ‘It has been challenging.

‘You find yourself pounding the pavements around Fareham time and time again. It’s not as if you can go into a gym and do all your body weight exercises.

‘It did the job for 3-4 weeks, but then gets monotonous to say the least.

‘Still, now you can now drive to a different place for a run, so I’ve been to Southsea for one, which has made it a little bit more interesting.’

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