Neal Bishop reacted to the Iron’s loss to Luton by explaining that the team have still had a great pre-season.
United lost 2-1, but Bishop believes that his side has gained enough in fitness and their tactics to justify a successful pre-season.
In an interview with iFollow Iron, the experienced midfielder shared that he's still confident ahead of the home clash with AFC Wimbledon on Saturday (ticket details here), and believes the squad can learn from their final warm-up game.
ON THE LUTON FRIENDLY…
NB: They were a very good team and we knew that. They gave us a good going over on Saturday, so fair play to them. It was probably similar to Hartlepool last season in our last friendly. We weren't quite at the races. This was our last friendly before we go into the season and we've got a lot to work on. What I think you've saw on Saturday is a few tired legs. That's not an excuse for basic errors, which we've got to cut out. We know that though and we've had words in the dressing room. Maybe Saturday’s loss wasn't a bad thing, as maybe it'll wake a few of us up.
ON THE SCORELINE…
NB: It was difficult. We started well and I think that a bit of fatigue played a part. It was a big test having some of the lads play 90 minutes on Wednesday and then setting off very early this morning to travel down here. There are no excuses, but I think you've got to give some credit to Luton. They've obviously worked on their shape and they pass the ball well. They were the better team on Saturday so all the best to them. I'm sure that they will have a good season.
"However, if you look at it overall, then we've had a really good pre-season, the majority of the lads have done every session and we've avoided a lot of injuries."
ON RECOVERING AHEAD OF AFC WIMBLEDON…
NB: It’s a friendly. We haven't lost any league points and these games are for situations like this. They're for tinkering the system into a slightly different shape to what we played the other night. It obviously hasn't worked as well as it did and that's what these games are for. Luckily, you get these games because from now on there are no freebies and everything is up for grabs as of next week.
ON PRE-SEASON IN GENERAL…
NB: You judge the pre-season as a whole, not just 90 minutes. They're really just glorified training sessions. They are games and you want to win every match. Unfortunately, we didn't win on Saturday, and that's a bit of a disappointment. However, if you look at it overall, then we've had a really good pre-season, the majority of the lads have done every session and we've avoided a lot of injuries.
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