Portsmouth ramp up pre-season plans with training camp and warm-up game

The Blues will spend the week at an undisclosed location in England as they gear up for the new campaign.

There is no game scheduled for this weekend after Kenny Jackett’s men reported back for training at their Roko base in Hilsea on Monday.

The plan is for the squad to be based locally this week then decamp to the new location for a week-long stay on Monday.

They will then operate in a strict bubble environment at a hotel, where they will be kept away from other residents.

Pompey hope to then fit in a warm-up game next Saturday within the confines of their base, with an opponent still to be confirmed.

A number of sides have been mooted as potential opponents for the game including Brentford, Norwich, Colchester, Brighton, Bristol City and Crawley.

Pompey will look to make that game one of four of five outings in total as they give up for the 2020-21 campaign.

Jackett has traditionally taken his team to Ireland to prepare for the new term but has needed to juggle plans this year amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The pre-season period will cover a five-to-six week period with the League One campaign scheduled to get underway on September 12.

The start to the season may yet be brought forward to factor in an EFL Cup fixtures before that date, however.

That last happened in the 2012-13 season with Michael Appleton sending a team with an average age of just 19 to face Plymouth in Capital One Cup, with the club in administration.

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