Manager believes there's lessons to learn from AZ Alkmaar defeat
Manager Steven Pressley believes Fleetwood Town will learn and benefit a lot from their test against AZ Alkmaar in Holland.The Cod Army were beaten 5-0 by the Europa League side on a red hot afternoon after playing their second match in two days.
And Pressley, who gave the majority of his squad minutes on the pitch, feels the conditioning aspect of the game will help Town be well-prepared for the start of the 2016/17 season.
"It's certainly not the result that we wanted but we got a lot from the game in the sense of condition and they way they worked the ball," said Pressley.
"In the first half we ended up coming in three-nil down but there was very little created in the way of opportunities, they were just clinical in the key moments.
"Like the Liverpool game, there's lessons to learn and there's a lot of hard work ahead of us.
"We've concentrated on certain aspects of the team and other aspects will take time."
Pressley made nine changes to the side which started the goalless draw with Fortuna Sittard the day before.
The Town boss said: "Many of the players were very fatigued today.
"We've trained them very hard in the early part of the week and had a game yesterday which a lot of players participated in.
"In terms of the exercise, we've got a lot out of it.
"I've got no doubt that by the start of the season our condition will be excellent."
And Pressley believes his young squad will learn from the experiences of playing against sides clinical in front of goal.
"They've got to learn to deal with setbacks and mistakes," he said.
"They have to deal with the disappointment side of football.
"That's a big part of it. When you get a setback, it's about the correct reaction."