Wanderers were held to a goalless draw by Spanish La Liga side Girona FC at Lancashire FA on Saturday afternoon.
Speaking to bwfc.co.uk after the game, Manager, Phil Parkinson discussed the following topics after watching his side in action.
On how the game progressed...
I thought it was a good game. Obviously they're a good side that finished midway in the Segunda (Spanish top division) last season. It was a good test for us, but I thought we had the better chances in the game. Obviously we missed a penalty and had a couple of very good chances in the first half, and in the second half as well we still had chances and created some good moments even though they had lots of possession. It was an excellent work-out for us in reasonably warm conditions against a very good football team, so we're pleased with that.
On sharpness at both ends of the pitch...
They had a few good chances and Ben (Alnwick) had made a great save; he's done that for us time and time again. On the other hand, we've created some good opportunities today and that's a good sign, but obviously you've got to stick those away. More importantly than that, I thought we looked good physically. The lads who played the full 90 minutes coped with it really well, and it takes us into another good week of training.
On the quality of Girona...
They're a good side. I got a chance to watch a little bit of them during the week to kind of know what we were going to come up against. We knew they would be a very good side and speaking to their manager before the game, he said they're looking to build on their mid-table finish last season in what is an excellent league. It was a great test for us.
A thank you to Lancashire FA...
Thanks to the (Lancashire) FA for letting us be able to use this excellent facility, with us being unable to use our pitch because of the concerts being on at the Macron. Simon Marland (Club Secretary) was quick off the mark in the summer to suggest this place and it has proved to be a very good day for us.
On the two new boys...
I'm pleased with Pav (Pawel Olkowski). He's obviously a bit behind with his preparation, but he's a fit lad and the Bolton fans who were here today warmed to his performance. With Yanic (Wildschut) we'd always planned for him to just play 45 minutes because he's had a week of travelling back from Germany where he's been in pre-season with Norwich. He needs to get back to Norwich now to collect his stuff, get back up here and have a good week on the training ground.
On the team's physical condition...
We're really pleased with the level the lads are at. The lads who were with us last season have come back in really good shape and I think you could see that today. It's important that Nick Allamby, the Head of Sports Science, gave the lads a good off-season programme. They've stuck to what they've been asked to do and I'm pleased with where we are physically.