SEAN O’Driscoll is pleased with the pre-season progress made after the first 10 days with his squad.
Friendly matches are not about results as he gets to know what his players are capable of.
Speaking after the Reds fell 1-0 to Conference new boys Woking on Tuesday, he reckons both he and the players have had a lot to discover about each other.
He said: “Three games in a week and the whole squad has played some part, even the young lads so it gives me an idea of what we’ve got.
“I’ve thrown them some a few difficult challenges. I’ve got no problems with the attitude - it’s been first class. Some people thrive from certain things and struggle with others.
“It’s been a learning curve for everybody: for the players to understand what I want and for me to understand what they can do.
“I’m pleased as 10 days into the season we’ve covered a lot of ground in weather where we’ve been struggling to find anywhere to train.”
What did he make of Tuesday night’s display?
“We lost our way a bit (after a promising start) and sometimes although it sounds stupid, trying to score is the worst thing you can do.
“(Friendlies) It’s a means to an end - you are trying to work out your best 11 or 18 players with subs so you can inter-change people.
If you are going to do well in this league you will need a squad that’s flexible. The only way you can do this is by throwing people a challenge in pre-season.
“A big test will come on Saturday. It’s alright playing smaller clubs away from home but we’ll be at home against a Championship team. It will be a big challenge for them.”