Boss Kieran McKenna felt the Blues got everything that he would want from this week’s training camp in Austria, Town having ended their stay with today’s two friendlies.

The squad, has been in Austria since Sunday, split into two for the matches, this morning’s 2-1 victory over Spartak Trnava and this afternoon’s 2-2 draw with Flyeralarm Admira.

“It’s been great, we’ve had a really good week,” McKenna said. “Got everything that you would want to get from a training camp.

“We got really good sessions on the grass, everyone in for a couple of double sessions to get some more work in, not just physical, more important than that also getting the tactical work in.

“Lots of time in the classroom and looking at video and things like that because we have more access to the players.

“Lots of good time spent off the pitch enjoying each other’s company, restrengthening that spirit and that bond that we have but that you can’t take for granted. You have to keep working on it and weeks like this are a really good part of that. We’ve had a really good camp.”

Quizzed on the first match against Slovakian top flight side Trnava, which like this afternoon’s game was played in temperatures above 30 degrees, McKenna said: “It was a really good game, they were a really good opponent, who I think are preparing for a really important game next week.

“I thought we played really well, I have to say. We scored a really good goal early on [though Sone Aluko], had other chances in the first half and then another good goal. Marcus [Harness] scored a really good goal breaking from the halfway line by himself in the second half.

“A good game, but the last 20 minutes were tough physically. You’re stretched when you’re playing two games across the squad on one day, so we were stretched in the last 20 minutes, the players really had to push and dig in in the last 20, and it helped with the young boys coming on as well.

“It was a really good game, we got lots out of it and we’ll certainly be stronger for it.”

Regarding the second match in which goals from Freddie Ladapo and Conor Chaplin saw the Blues come from behind twice to claim a draw, he reflected: “It was a mixed bag. I think it was 35 degrees at kick-off on our thermometer and there’s no doubt about it, I thought the players struggled a little bit in the first half to get to the intensity of the game.

“It’s probably the hottest I’ve ever coached in, probably for the players probably the hottest they’ve ever played in. It was difficult to get quite up to speed in the first half.

“We made some mistakes on the goals, a mistake to concede from a set play, something that we will want to be strong on again this season. But this is the time of the season to make those mistakes.

“Again, we conceded a goal in the first game, which wasn’t great from our point of view, but that’s part of what pre-season is for. It’s for ironing out mistakes, it’s for working on details and it’s better that these things happen now so we can work on it because we don’t want it to happen too often in the season.

“I thought we got stronger as the game when on, I thought we looked physically good in the second half, we created more than enough chances to get more than the two goals that we got and it was nice for Conor and Freddie to get a goal, Conor to get his first of pre-season and I knew he was keen to get off the mark.

“Plenty of positives, great for the young boys [Leon Ayinde, Ryan Carr, Fin and Harry Barbrook] to come on and make a contribution and not easy for them to play both games with very little time in between.

“Great experience for them, great impact when they got on the pitch and for the senior boys, it’s just about getting minutes into as many as we can across the whole squad.”

McKenna says the next stage of pre-season is to step up preparations with the Blues at fellow Championship side Preston North End on Wednesday evening.

“That’s how we planned it, these first couple of weeks, the training blocks were more important than the games really. The games were about getting minutes,” he said.

“Preston will be a big step up and back to a more familiar environment to what we’ll face this year in terms of climate, pitch and everything like that. That will be a good test.

“It’s still too early to say that it’s a marker or anything but it will be a good test, a good step up for us. We’ll utilise the whole squad again for the minutes.

“And then we accumulate some match minutes next weekend [with the games at Cambridge and Stevenage] and we follow that with Luton and then two Bundesliga games.

“For us, the first three weeks has been a block that we’ve looked at separate and now it’s really a two-week block where we ramp up the match minutes, we ramp up the quality of the opposition and that’s going to be really good for us. And then we can really look forward to the first game.”

McKenna says it was always the plan to sign former loanee George Hirst on a permanent basis this summer, the deal finally having been confirmed on Thursday.

Hirst didn’t join up with the squad in Austria due to a knock he suffered at the end of last season but will be reunited with his teammates on Monday.

“Yes, it was, to be honest, probably before the final ball was kicked,” the Northern Irishman admitted.

“I’ve said lots of times that he’s a forward that we really like, we think he’s got good potential and really fits our group, both tactically and in terms of mentality, and his age and where he wants to go and the step that he now wants to and needs to take in his career, and that being really aligned with where the club is.

“We’re really happy to be bringing him back in and he can join the group now, everything’s familiar to him and he’s got a lot of the same challenges as a lot of the other players in the dressing room ahead now.

“He has to go and step up and show that what he did in the second half of the season, he can go and show those same qualities at the next level. That’s what we’re all looking to do.”

McKenna confirmed he wants to further add to his squad before the transfer window closes.

“We do, we’re working away,” he said. “The club are working very hard. Myself and the coaching staff are contributing as well.

“We want to add to the squad and we want to improve and take the level higher than what it was last year.

“That’s just not new players, that’s improving the players that are here, but part of that, of course, is improving the quality in the squad, and that’s what we’re going to try and do.”

The Blues have fielded central midfielders at centre-half on a number of occasions in pre-season, but McKenna says not too much should be read into it.

“More needs must, to be honest,” he said. “Not so much with Dominic [Ball], I think Dominic has experience at centre-back and we see him as an option for us there this season and it’s been good to get him some minutes in that position.

“Lee Evans played centre-half this morning, did really well, I have to say, but that’s more just about centre-halves available versus midfielders available and getting the minutes into the players who need it.”

George Edmundson missed both today’s games but McKenna isn’t particularly concerned about the former Rangers man’s fitness.

“George has a little aggravation in his ankle, nothing that we’re overly worried about,” he said. “He popped back halfway through the week just to get some treatment in London. He should hopefully join back with the group next week.

“And there were a couple of little niggles today, JD [Janoi Donacien] and Wes [Burns, who limped off with what looked a calf problem], but we got them off nice and early. it’s the stage of the season where it’s no risk and as soon as anyone feels anything you generally get them off the pitch.”

Photo: Matchday Images

BrianTablet added 19:22 - Jul 15 Isn't it great to have a manager who doesn't just know what he's doing, but who can also explain what he is doing so excellently?
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ArnieM added 19:58 - Jul 15 Yip, I fully concur with that ….
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765765 added 20:49 - Jul 15 Agreed, pre-season results are pretty irrelevant it's just good to be confident that McKenna is getting what he wants out of the trip, if ever there was a man with a plan, KM is it!
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atty added 22:41 - Jul 15 Re signings, greatbso far, young, hungry etc. As for other signings we need to be mindful that we are obviously less competitive in the Championship than we were in Lge1. Some serious money being spent by some.
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superblues9 added 23:09 - Jul 15 Nice to go on a more demanding pre season than going to Ireland all the time as did under previous managers !
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