Portsmouth make a splash as they hit freezing Irish Sea on pre-season tour

Kenny Jackett’s men braved the freezing waters of the Irish Sea after their 11-0 victory over UCD last night.

The first game of pre-season delivered one of the most emphatic scorelines in Pompey’s history, as Brett Pitman bagged a hat-trick with Ronan Curtis (2), Joe Hancott, Gareth Evans, Ben Close and Jamal Lowe also on the scoresheet.

The players hit the water en-masse today near their Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links base after their Dublin exertions against the League of Ireland side.

That aided in the recovery for some aching limbs and made a novel alternative from the ice baths often favoured by footballers in the modern era.

But, of course, there also was the fact players could scarcely be seen to be shying away from the task if they wanted to be able to show their face around the rest of the training camp...