Smiling eyes in Ireland as Pompey pre-season begins

Portsmouth will begin their Championship season with a home game against QPR [BBC Radio Solent] One of the reasons Portsmouth opted for Ireland for a pre-season camp this year was the weather. They've been to southern Europe for the past three seasons and at times it has been brutally hot. The conditions here have been perfect, clear skies, sunshine but temperatures in the low-to-mid twenties. Cool enough for what has been a fairly relentless training schedule. During the season there are so many matches that opportunities for intense training are limited. Not so here. The players have been doing double sessions, some of which have been long and incredibly physical. It's interesting to watch John Mousinho on the training ground, he has a clear vision for what he wants done in each drill and demands high standards. As well as building up fitness, these weeks are important for working on patterns of play and looking at set-pieces. There is still a lot of work to do in the transfer market and there are just two new faces in the group. Those are free-agent signing Odin Bailey, who is keeping a close eye on his good friend Jude Bellingham's heroics at the World Cup, and young forward Eoin Kenny, who flew from Ireland to Portsmouth for his medical before quickly jumping back on another plane to head back to his home country with his new squad. Kenny looks in impressive shape - however, despite leading the group the whole way in one of the runs, he was outsprinted to the finish line by Marlon Pack as a member of the coaching staff shouted "don't let him beat you, he's 40!" Pack is a long way from 40 and a long way from being finished as a player, he prides himself on his fitness which is still exceptional. In a rare break from training a Padel tournament was organised for Thursday afternoon. It would be brave to bet against Pack coming out on top. He happens to be good at just about every sport as well as being incredibly competitive. Squad bonding is another key objective of this week. There is hope, optimism and determination that this campaign can be different from the past two where Pompey have spent the season battling the drop. The playing budget has been increased although it is understood it is still likely to be in the bottom quarter of the Championship. Key incomings will arrive soon. However, sporting director Richard Hughes was tight-lipped when asked about Estonian Rocco Shein and Serbian striker Marko Milovanovic earlier this week. There is more money to spend than there has been in previous years. But there will also need to be outgoings - more than half a dozen are likely to depart otherwise players will end up being left out of the 25-man squad. Moves away for Jacob Farrell and Ibane Bowat have been discussed by Mousinho and others will need to go as well. The Wrexham interest in player of the season Terry Devlin has not disappeared. The hard work is well under way, but we'll have to wait the best part of 10 months to find out what it will achieve.