Skipper: It was good to talk

YOU WERE GREAT: Alex Cisak (left), Dean Furman and Paul Dickov thank Athletic’s travelling fans for their support at Portsmouth.

A PLAYER summit preceded Athletic's gritty first win of the season at Portsmouth, jet-setting captain Dean Furman has revealed.

A poor start to the season led to criticism from the Boundary Park boardroom last week.

But Furman feels the performance in the own-goal win at Fratton Park reflected a determination within the team.

“There has been quite a lot going on in the week. But we had a little chat and we are very strong as a group,” explained Furman.

“We are fighting as a team, fighting for the club and nobody is more upset when we lose.

“We came into the season with a lot of confidence and for one reason or another that has slightly gone away from us.

“Hopefully, this is the real start for us and we can kick on from here.”

Furman today linked up with South Africa in Sao Paulo ahead of friendlies against Brazil on Friday and Mozambique next week.

The goal of the Cape Town-born player is to impress coach Gordon Igesund sufficiently to enter his thinking for the Africa Cup of Nations early next year.

“It’s a great honour and something I have been working hard to get,” Furman added.



ATHLETIC'S scheduled game at Doncaster this Saturday is OFF.

Furman's international duties have been matched by Northern Ireland under-21s calls for Carl Winchester and Kirk Millar.

The club had the right to ask for a postponement of the fixture.






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