Jon Meeney said he was pleased with the performance in the 2-0 win over AFC Wimbledon, with the U’s picking up consecutive victories to start pre-season.
Sutton’s First Team Coach watched on from the touchline as Ashley Nadesan’s brace secured the rewards from another positive display, carrying on the momentum from Tuesday night’s win over the Dons’ League One rivals, Wycombe Wanderers.
“It was another solid workout, solid performance” Meeney told SUFCtv. “The lads carrying out the things we’ve been working on since we’ve come back to pre-season and it’s good to see it come to fruition.”
“There are things to work on, but a lot of positives that now gives us a platform to come back back in on Monday, ready for the game on Tuesday.”
“It was a different test today. Obviously against Wycombe they tried to play through us, they tried to probe our shape and we had to have that really good control and restraint, be very diligent in the spaces that we block to then transition and play from there.”
“Today there was a little bit more directness. AFC mix up their game really well, wall passes on the sides, they flip things around the corner, they hit diagonals. So again, we had to have good shape, had to get pressure on the ball when we could, but it was all about first ball, second ball at times, defending our box, stopping crosses, first contact, second contact, the goalkeepers being aggressive, and then doing those non-negotiables that give you a platform to then transition to attack.”
Nadesan’s two goals displayed a level of intensity which Meeney was certainly pleased with, and commented on the importance of that during the upcoming season.
It’s a non-negotiable, at the end of the day that’s what we expect Monday to Friday and i’s very competitive in-house Monday to Friday. Intensity is part of our identity and we ask the players to give as much as they can and then we make substitutes and we keep the intensity going.”
Overall though, the mood in the camp has been one notable aspect of pre-season so far, and has allowed the squad to play with freedom during the opening two friendlies so far.
“As I said the other day, the way the lads have integrated as a group has been brilliant – you know, the social chemistry.”
“You can see that the way that they’re playing on the pitch with the freedom, that’s the way that they train and that’s the environment that we want to create, that the Gaffer wants to create. It’s just that belief, that focus and that freedom in everything that we do.”
The importance of match fitness is also something which was thought about in the dugout, and unlike against Wycombe, saw the changes delayed from half time until the hour-mark against Wimbledon.
“It’s just about increasing the the physical loading now” said Meeney”.
“Everyone today and Tuesday will be getting up to 60 minutes, so that’s again just improving them from a physical point of view, making sure that we’re managing them correctly, also that injury prevention, and then we just step it up as we go and it’s all part of the process.”
