Gaffer's thoughts after pre-season game with Cardiff
Micky Mellon was disappointed to see his team go down by four goals to nil against a strong Cardiff City side but said the result should be viewed realistically as the pre-season preparations continue.
Town fielded two almost entirely different sides in the two halves as eight of their new signings made their first appearances at the Greenhous Meadow.
But the Championship visitors from South Wales eased to a comfortable victory and Mellon said the squad had not yet been put through their paces with a specific line-up in mind.
“Everything has to be gauged by the fact it is pre-season,” he said.
“People need to get minutes in pre-season. Of course it is important you try and find some kind of performance to build on but they are the things that are important.
“In our defence I have got to say we have not really worked on a team. The first two games have just been about getting match time under people’s belts and getting everybody 45 minutes without really doing anything structural with the group so in our defence I must say that.
“We of course want to do better all the time and there is loads that I want to work on and today highlights that and gives me plenty of things I want us to work on. There is a lot of football and organisational stuff still to be done.”
Eight new signings made their first public appearance for Town and two trialists also featured in the second half.
The manager said that although they don’t like to get beat in any occasion, the fact most players got 45 minutes on the pitch was the most important thing.
“There will be (a bedding in period) but the important thing is that wasn’t a team we put out today it was a group of players put together to get 45 minutes under their belt to work towards the principles of what we want to do like closing down and all the rest of it,” he said.
“But there has been no team sheet done so I have got to defend us on that one. We don’t like to get beat at any time but we will work forward from today’s game as we did with the Wolves game towards that first game of the season.
“They are just trialists. We have to have a look at people again and have a look at them in the environment we are playing in so that is all I can and want to say about it. I am not trying to be too evasive it is just the way we like to do things here.”
Jayson Leutwiler had a slight back injury so Mark Halstead started the game in goal despite not having signed a contract.
“He has just got a stiff back,” added the manager.
“It is pre-season so for 45 minutes would it be worth him aggravating a back injury that he has picked up when he will probably be alright for Tuesday so Mark played the first half young Callum played the second half.
“It is something we would like to try and do with the goalkeeper situation but now we have got ourselves into a situation where the group is concerned we will have to get one person out to try and get people in.
“We are working towards that and want to keep trying to improve it and we will take every day as it comes with that one but we are working very hard behind the scenes to try and get some clarity on what we want to do.
“James Wesolowski is still training with us and like I say we would have to move some stuff around to bring people in.
“That is what happens with things like budgets so we will continue to work day to day on that and see if we can get some clarity on it.
“He is still training with us but he came to the decision he wasn’t going to play in any of the pre-season games because he isn’t contracted to us.”
Tyrone Barnett made another appearance for the Town despite media reports suggesting he had been given a free transfer but Mellon said he did not know anything about the supposed agreement with Southend.
“I haven’t spoken to Phil (Brown, Southend United manager). Phil is a good friend of mine so I don’t really know where all of that came from like I don’t know where a lot of stuff comes from,” Mellon said.
“I don’t know anything about it. Phil has not contacted me, Ty has not come to me and said anything about it. We are getting on with it day to day.
“If that changes I am sure that I will get a phone call or Ty will come and see me but we will continue as things are and try to move things forward.
“I haven’t spoken to Phil about it. I spoke to him about three or four weeks ago and nothing has happened since then.”