Boss reflects on friendly draw at Sligo
Paul Cook will not be paying too much attention to results in pre-season.
The Blues boss knows that how you fare in friendly matches rarely equates to a side’s success once the league campaign gets underway.
So emotions were kept firmly in control following a 3-3 draw at Sligo during the club’s trip to Ireland.
Gary Roberts opened the scoring before a Conor Chaplin brace gave the visitors a comfortable interval lead at The Showgrounds.
Sligo ultimately fought back to secure a stalemate, but Cook knows that there is still plenty of time to prepare for the League Two opener on August 6.
He said: “It’s pre-season and whether you play well, badly or indifferently, the message remains the same.
“It’s all about getting ready for that first game of the season against Carlisle next month.
“There were aspects that we were pleased with and others that we’ll look at and know they need work.
“It was nice for some of the lads to get a few minutes, and I thought Milan Lalkovic and Danny Rose did well.
“It’s the first game for a lot of them and they’re still finding their feet – it’s a long road and we’re all aware of that.
“Pre-season’s all about working hard and trying to improve – whether we win or lose it’s the same message.”
The match was a testimonial for long-serving Sligo servant Gavin Peers and Cook was pleased to help honour the defender.
He said: “The most important thing was that it was Gavin’s night and everyone was able to see what a fantastic, well-run club Sligo is.
“Our travelling support were also superb yet again and great credit goes to them for that.
“But it was a great night for Gavin and we were happy to come over here to fulfil the fixture – now we move on to the Bohemians game on Saturday.”