Matt Taylor spoke to the media following our pre-season friendly with Notts County.
In what was our last friendly of pre-season, Dan Udoh put Town ahead with a brilliant finish - with the goal his first since repturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee last August.
But an equaliser from David McGoldrick saw County go in at the break on level terms.
Town really should have won it after the interval with Ryan Bowman twice denied by goalkeeper Aidan Stone while Carl Winchester also went close.
Speaking post-match, Matt gave his thoughts on the match, Dan’s goal and an impressive debut by new signing Joe Anderson.
ON THE GAME:
"I thought we should have won the game, I thought we had enough chances to do that.
"They (Notts County) are a good footballing team. I think we faced a different challenge today to what we faced last week (against Coventry).
"I thought out-of-possession we were really solid. We have been working a lot on that as a group.
"But then it’s the detail when we create chances – that's where we need to be more ruthless.
"I’m really pleased for Dan to get his first goal of pre-season. I think you saw how much it meant to him.
"I would just say I think he should have had more than one. I think Ryan Bowman should have scored a couple so there are positive signs.
"But when we have worked so hard to get into those key areas on the pitch – and we don’t make use of that good play – then it’s disappointing.
"But on the whole, it was a pleasing performance. We have got no injuries today which is fantastic.
"Everybody is now ready and raring to go for next week and to prepare for the upcoming game."
ON DAN GETTING A LITTLE BIT OF TREATMENT IN THE GAME:
"Dan is fine, he has just got a tight hip flexor. I think at the beginning of pre-season we weren’t quite sure whether we would have him ready. But I think he’s ready. I think he looks sharp.
"He will get better. He still needs a run of games, he has had a long time out. But there are no concerns with him.
"Dan has worked really hard. I think he worked harder before I was here because he would have been in the gym on his own. But all of the players have worked equally hard.
"For Dan this has been a tough pre-season because he hasn’t had the exposure the other players have had during last season physically with playing games. So he will get better, he will get stronger physically.
"But I think what you see at the moment is a really hungry Dan, he is a goal scorer and we need to make sure we keep getting him in positions on the pitch where he can affect games and score goals."
ON JOE ANDERSON'S DEBUT:
"Joe did well today considering he hasn’t been with the group very long. I thought he slotted in. I like his front-footed, aggressive, defensive positioning.
"I think while he has got a varying amount of passes in his locker, it’s maybe at times picking the right one for the right situation.
"But I was really impressed with him. When you look at our goal it comes from a slight disguise, we win the ball back and he plays a ball into Dan. Dan turns and he puts the ball in the back of the net, he did what good strikers do.
"That will do Joe the world of good – getting 90 minutes under his belt. As it will all the other players."
ON CARL WINCHESTER PLAYING RIGHT WING-BACK AND IN MIDFIELD:
"Carl is a player I said I spoke about during the interview I had with Micky five weeks ago.
"I think it was a really shrewd bit of business by the football club to bring Carl back.
"He is a player that offers huge versatility. He has been promoted out of this league and understands the level.
"He is a player who understands the game and is also hungry to succeed. We are fortunate to have him. He can play in multiple positions and we saw that today."
ON NEXT SEVEN DAYS AHEAD OF THE NEW SEASON:
"Today marks the last day of pre-season if you like because next week is all about building up to the most important fixture.
"We have to be ready for that first game. Are we going to be ready? I think we will. There are elements during the week that we need to practice.
"There will be lots of information going into the players but what I do know is we have got a group of hungry footballers who are most definitely physically and mentally ready for the season."
