It was wet, cold, windy ... a typical Cumbrian summer’s day pretty much, but we somehow found a hidey hole where we could talk to assistant manager Gav Skelton following the friendly at Workington on Saturday afternoon.
“It was a lovely afternoon, wasn’t it!” he joked. “I’ve experienced plenty of these, but probably more in November, December and January than in July.
“It is what it is and credit to both sets of players because the professionalism and standards were there from everybody. I thought they went about it in the right way, both teams tried to play and I’m sure we all got a lot from it.
“The conditions weren’t ideal but, like I say, we’ll experience that at some point during the season, so maybe it wasn’t a bad thing.”
It was the latest in the run of July fixtures that had plenty of tempo about it.
“We were pleased with the pace of the game at times but, as ever, we want more,” he insisted. “I thought we were a little bit passive in the way we started the game in terms of how we pressed and moved the ball.
“When we got it right we created opportunities, and you saw at the start of the second half that we wanted to be a bit more forceful in how we went about it in and out of possession.
“We scored goals because of that, so overall it was a pleasing performance. Those who came on for the last half hour, it’s difficult to do that because they immediately have to get up to the pace of the game.
“They’d been sat around in the rain and the cold so it’s pleasing to see them come on and put a shift like that in. They did a bit of extra work after full-time to make sure they hit their targets and it’s all part of the building process towards the start of the season.”
In a change from the outings at Annan and Gretna, it was a chance for a group to get an hour, with Jordan Gibson and Jon Mellish playing the full 90 minutes.
“We’ll try to do it with everybody because it’s after 45 minutes that you can start to stiffen up, so they all need to get used to getting out there again,” he explained.
“I thought we got going again at the start of the second half, which is what you want to see. We got two goals during that period and, again, that’s what you want when you have upped the pace a bit.
“Its about building those fitness levels and match sharpness levels up. The lads who topped up, it’s hard for them because they’re off the bench and they have to go at it.
“They play for half an hour, go back in, then come back out for more running, but I do think the modern day footballer appreciates what they have to do, and they know what’s expected of them.
“With Mells and Gibbo, Mells can just run all day, and Jordan’s looked good in pre-season fitness wise, so it’s a chance to look at him in a different position. In terms of who got 60 and 30, that will probably change with a training game this week.”
Another pleasing aspect was the quality of the football was matched by the physical output.
“Yes, we’re reasonably pleased,” he agreed. “You’re always nit picking. The quality, especially in the final third, we’re conscious it’s something we have to improve on.
“We got into some really good areas and perhaps didn’t work the keeper as much as we should have, or maybe we took the wrong option. It’s still pre-season and you’d expect it to be better as we go along.
“But, yes, the physical output is good, and the more games you get, the more quality you want alongside that. There was a little bit more quality in this one, and a bit more physical output in terms of a lot of lads getting 60 minutes, and they looked stronger as they went on, which is pleasing.
“Credit to Workington because they made us work. We’ve come umpteen times here and I thought they played some good stuff at times. I think they’ll be really good this year, Workington.
“They’ve got a few players missing, a few coming back, but I thought we were quite comfortable overall, really, and disappointed maybe not to add a few more goals.”
