Harrogate Town AFC

Watch the Gaffer's pre Portsmouth interview as we prepare for Saturday's FA Cup Second Round tie…
 


The Gaffer on what was a disrupted start to the week due to bad weather…

It's been good to have a rest for everybody in the building, really. The game got called off not too long before we were due to meet on the coach on Tuesday. So we just told the lads to do a run, record the times, send it in and then they've had the Wednesday off as usual. They've had a good four days break but they've come back in re-energised today and trained really well.

The Gaffer on looking forward to the challenge of facing Portsmouth…

It's a great challenge that's for sure. Portsmouth are a massive club, as we know from the away support when they played against us last time in the FA Cup, but we go to Fratton Park, which is a great ground to visit, and they have a fantastic partisan support behind them. I've heard we're taking a good number away from home which is superb for us as a club and superb for the players, but it's a big test again and one that we're going to relish.

On whether there's a point to prove against Portsmouth, having faced the League One side two seasons ago…

I think it's less about a point to prove to them. We play with tremendous pride and energy, and we're just looking forward to playing our way against higher league opposition. We've come up a level in the last couple of years and acquitted ourselves well so far. We've got pride about that, but then that's that next stage and what it looks like if we are to be successful, so everybody wants to come out of that with a lot of credit in the bank.

On Portsmouth's recent strong form…

I think it's one of the toughest draws at this stage, but I think we can go there and freely express ourselves and there's very little pressure on the players. We can go there and enjoy it but think bigger than just being overrun as the underdogs, we can have a good crack at it.

On what it would mean to the club to make it into the third round of the competition…

There's very little pressure on us other than obviously wanting to do well for the club but it would be an enormous thing to reach the third round and anything's possible at that stage in the next draw. It's a tough battle ahead but we go there in good heart, having had a good rest this week and we know that we're very capable of putting in a really good performance.

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