Slaven delivers verdict on final friendly
The manager declared that he was neither overwhelmed or disappointed after the 3-0 defeat by Manchester City in Iceland.
He explained: “We were without a few players, to be fair, and if we want to match the big clubs like Man City, then we need a full squad and we have to be on top of our game to have a chance. The difference is that the pace and quality that they have is scary, and you could see that today.
“In the second half, we had some moments in the game which were good and some opportunities but not goal scoring ones, apart from a couple.
“When we took the ball from them or when they lost possession, which was not very often, we could have opened them up because they play very high, and one proper and not very difficult ball, we could have caused them problems, but we didn’t and there was the difference.
“When we made a mistake, as we did before the first goal, they punished us straight away, either with a goal or with a big chance.
“So, I’m not overwhelmed and I’m not disappointed because it is part of pre-season and we will not only play against clubs like this in the Premier League.
“That said, you can’t make mistakes like this, and to be fair we were making them last year, like when we played Man City at home when their first goal was similar. After they score, it is then a big problem for you to turn the game around.
“When you don’t do those kind of mistakes, like for example against Spurs [in May], then you have a chance. We did the mistake very early in the game today and then it’s very difficult.”