It’s Pre-season
Exactly that. It is pre-season. While every club wants to have a good pre-season, to help go into the season in good spirits, it is not the be all and end all by any means.
More than that, it is only the very beginning on pre-season. The players returned to training only one/two weeks ago, or even less in some cases, so for many the fixture represented an opportunity to stretch out the legs after a summer off and blow out some of the cob webs. Yes, they are professionals, and yes, it is there job to perform, no one can expect the players to hit the ground running.
