Turnbull: My players need to look at Gosport

Moneyfields manager Glenn Turnbull says his squad should take note of Gosport Borough's recovery methods after falling short in their bid to win a third successive Portsmouth Senior Cup crown.

Holders Moneys were beaten 4-1 in the final by two-divisions higher Boro at Baffins Milton Rovers FC's PMC Stadium last Wednesday.

Turnbull had no complaints with the defeat and admitted Southern League Premier South side Gosport were 'levels' above his Wessex

League Premier troops throughout.

But the Moneys boss believes his ninth-tier players could also learn a few off-the-field lessons from Shaun Gale's Boro squad.

Turnbull told how while his men were tucking into the post-match lasagne meal on offer and each armed with a handful of beers, Gosport took a different approach.

Instead, the Boro players were in the clubhouse with 'litre bottles of water, protein shakes and recovery gels.’

And while Turnbull fully acknowledges his Moneys players operate at a different standard, he believes there could be some slight changes required to turn them into 'serious' Wessex Premier contenders moving forward.

‘I think they take it as me digging them out (Moneyfields players), necessarily I'm not, but this sums it up,’ Turnbull said.

‘They've won the cup (Gosport), we've lost, they're in (the clubhouse, Moneys squad) eating the lasagne, laughing and joking, (with) four bottles of beer each in their hands.

‘Gosport come in, they've all got litre bottles of water, they've all got recovery gels, they're drinking protein shakes - undoubtedly they're all in the gym (after the final) doing stretching and recovery sessions.

‘Our lot were putting in the WhatsApp group, ‘I'm a bit stiff this morning, I can't understand why I'm stiff,’ but they don’t prepare properly and don’t look after themselves in recovery.

‘But, again, that's why they're in the league they are and we're where we are.

‘Don't get me wrong, I totally get we are Wessex football. With all due respect, the very best county and pub players around play Wessex football - I get that. If we want to be serious contenders, we've got to take a little bit of notice of what's going on around us.’

Moneys midfielder Callum Glen was sent off for dissent in the first half of the final.

But Turnbull stressed it would be ‘cheap’ of him to point the finger at the official for the cup defeat.

He added: ‘We talked in the changing rooms about giving ourselves a chance, make sure we're still in it at intervals - 25, 30 minute and half-time.

‘So we get to 20 minutes, I looked at Barto (Paul Barton, assistant manager) and we'd done it, then 22 minutes, boom, goal.

‘It would be cheap of me to blame that (the referee), it wasn't anything to do with that.

‘We'd have got beat whether we played with him (Glen) or not.

‘I don't genuinely think they (Gosport) got out of second gear.’