Town boss Kieran McKenna felt the Blues’ 2-1 home defeat to 2. Bundesliga side Fortuna Düsseldorf was a useful workout, although admitted his team didn’t play at their best.
Fortuna went in front in the fifth minute via Danny Schmidt before Town sub Marcus Harness levelled on 48 but the Germans restored their lead on 57 via Tim Roßmann.
"It was a useful workout,” McKenna said. "Of course, we didn’t play our best. I thought we had challenges with some of our pressing and off the ball stuff the whole game, but that can happen and it’s good for it to happen at this stage of the season.
"We didn’t prep the game at this stage of the season as we would in a league campaign, so there were some organisation challenges, but also some individual and unit things for us to improve on against a team who played very, very well and are further along in their prep from us and are getting ready for the league to start next week.
"It was a useful workout, a really good challenge. A shame about Wes’s ankle and we’re waiting to see on that but other than that lots of good minutes in the legs.
"The Premier League starts later than most of the other leagues, so that’s the nature of the fixtures, which is only a positive for sure because we still have a few weeks to go and we’re going to need the few weeks on all aspects.
"So playing a team who are a good side who were very close to getting promoted themselves last year and came ready for the league next week, that was a really good challenge for us and I think the boys felt that and it was a tough game, a good game.”
Town started with new boys Aro Muric, Jacob Greaves, Ben Johnson and Liam Delap all in the XI and McKenna was asked whether their lack of familiarity with the rest of the squad had an impact on the display.
"We wanted to put all four of the boys, apart from Omari [Hutchinson, who has a minor niggle], the four boys who hadn’t played here before,” he said.
"We wanted to put them all in the starting line-up today just to get them acclimatised as soon as possible with playing at the stadium first and foremost but certainly in Jacob and Liam and Aro’s cases, they haven’t had as many minutes with the group.
"We wanted to throw them all in today, we knew that then there are always going to be little bits of understanding or wavelength issues, but that’s natural when players come in, so we’ll work on that.
"Of course, there some good things in the performance from those boys, there were some good things from the boys who have been here and there were things to work on for everyone. That’s pretty normal this stage of the year.”
As well as his goal, Harness did well coming off the bench having replaced Wes Burns, who rolled his ankle in an accidental collision in the first half.
"He did really well,” the Blues boss continued "We’re really pleased for him and a good one for the group as well, an early marker in pre-season of something that’s been massive for us, which is people on the bench being ready to come on and do a good job.
"He certainly did that in a different role than he’s played for us, but a role we’ve spoken with him about quite a few times and he’s pretty keen on. I think he enjoyed playing out there and he did really well.”
Also in an unfamiliar position was Jack Taylor, who was in the left-sided forward role from the start.
"I’m not sure if he’s started a game there for us,” McKenna tried to recall. "He’s come on in games for us. We want to have a look at him across pre-season really, in training and in games, in higher up positions as well, probably as a left and right forward for us.
"It was good for him to get some exposure up there and he showed some nice touches and we need to have those options at the moment because we aren’t very heavy in those positions, so his qualities could be important.”
As against Shakhtar Donetsk last week, the Blues had long spells without the ball, something which is likely to be the case against the top opposition in the campaign ahead.
Was it a conscious decision to face teams in pre-season who would present that challenge? "We’re trying to play good teams, so Shakhtar last week were a really good team with the ball, as were Düsseldorf today.
"We know we’re going to have to be really compact when we’re defending on shape, we’re going to have to be really compact and resilient within that defensive shape, so it’s something that we’re emphasising, we’re practising a little bit more in the games.
"We’re happy to have those moments in pre-season games where we have to defend on shape and get used to defending on shape because we know that’s going to be a really important part of the season.
"Of course, we want to be aggressive, we want to dominate, we want to be as proactive as we have been over the last couple of years but that’s not going to always be the case in every minute of every game and we’re going to have to show and develop our other aspects.
"As we did last season, to be honest, when we played the top teams in the division, we often had to find different ways but that’s certainly going to be a bigger challenge this season, so it’s something that we’re going to embrace in the pre-season programme as well.”
Looking ahead to the season, McKenna is well aware that the campaign ahead will be a huge step up.
"Expectations can be high or low, that’s natural, that’s football and we want everyone to be optimistic going into the season,’ the Blues boss reflected.
"But also we’re really aware of the challenge and it’s a huge step up, probably the the biggest step up between two divisions in world football, especially for us, who have climbed a division before.
"We know it’s going to be a big challenge and a big step up. I think the large, large majority of our supporters also know that, but we also know that we’ve build an ethos and a culture of a group and of a club of resilience, of bravery, of spirit, of will to take on big challenges.
"We’ve built that over the last couple of years and we’re going to carry that forward this year and we’re going to need that from every player, every supporter and every member of staff.”
The game was McKenna’s first at Portman Road since the club confirmed and celebrated promotion on the final day of the last campaign by defeating Huddersfield 2-0.
"It was really nice,” he said. "Maybe not so much the link to Huddersfield because it’s a different day, but just to see the work that’s been going on.
"I’ve been down the stadium a few times and every time I could down there’s a little bit more been done and projects going on, so it was nice for everyone to see that, nice to see some of the supporters and for them to see some of the players and some of the new players and we’re looking forward to being back here for the Nice game now in a couple of weeks time and then the big opening.”