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GOSPORT BOROUGH will prepare for their big day at Wembley by watching a game of rugby under the Arch the day before.
Boss Alex Pike is taking his players to watch Saracens v Harlequins in front of more than 70,000 people on Saturday afternoon.
It’s all part of the Skrill South club’s build-up to the game that Pike hopes will help them perform to their best on the day.
“The chairman has given me the responsibility and tools to sort everything out,” said Pike, who is bidding to become the first manager to win both the FA Vase and the FA Trophy.
“Two of my players have got young babies and you can’t disrupt sleep so we’re going away Thursday, we’ll train Friday and go down to Wembley in the afternoon.
“On Friday night we’ll take the players out for something to eat in London, Saturday morning we’ll train and Saturday afternoon we’ll go and watch Saracens at Wembley.
“It’s so you can familiarise yourself inside the stadium with a crowd. I’m lucky when I look through my team. Tim Sills has played in two finals at Wembley, Sammy Igoe has played a play-off final there and Mike Gosney an FA Vase final. So we’ll draw on that experience and prepare in the right manner.”
The players have already been fitted for their traditional cup final suits and will be decked out in a new strip.
Pike added: “I’m lucky that I’m in the industry and through my suppliers we’ve got a nice new ProStar kit.
“That was also the stark reality last Thursday when we went down to TM Lewin’s in Gunwharf Quays and I see all my players like excited schoolboys getting fitted up.
“If you look good and feel good then they’ll play good.”
*This article first appeared in The NLP on Sunday, March 16
