Left-back Aaron Cresswell admitted that his 83rd minute equaliser during last night’s 1-1 draw with Den Bosch had been a bit of a fluke, his freekick hitting the wall before beating the keeper.
The 22-year-old said: "I think it was a bit of a fluke, to be honest, but they all count. That’s two deflected goals now!
"It was a pre-season game, it was a good work-out for the lads, but we didn’t play as well as we thought we could.
"It’s not about the results, obviously we care about winning, but it’s more about the fitness side. Both teams we’ve played are good passing teams. It’s not like back in England where it’s totally different. It’s been a good work-out for the boys over here in Holland.”
He says manager Paul Jewell and his staff have been working them very hard but that was to be expected: "It’s a pre-season, you can’t turn up just to come for a holiday, it’s pre-season, it’s tough, that’s what it’s all for, it’s for running and getting your fitness levels up. It has been tough this week.
"The season’s in the back of our minds, it’s about a month away. We’re preparing well for August 18th, but there’s still a long way to go and hopefully we can get a good few games in before then.”
The Liverpudlian says he spent much of the summer getting over the hamstring injury he suffered in the final home game of the 2011/12 campaign: "It wasn’t a nice way to end the season, but while there’s never a good time to get injured, it was in a way.
"I’ve been in in the summer with Matt and Alex the physios doing work and strengthening my hamstrings. We’re still a month away from the season in which to get even fitter.”