Warren Joyce has been pleased with the reds pre-season performances for the reserves, but is still unsure of the make-up of his squad next term.
Speaking to MUTV after the reds lost 2-0 to Peterborough, Joyce said:
“It’s gone well, It’s been two different teams going at the same time really with the lads who have been on tour coming back and trying to get their fitness up.”
“Then there are lads who worked all the way through, playing other games as well as a lot of training, but we managed to keep the plates spinning around. There was a lot of hard work but it was enjoyable and we played some good football.”
Sam Johnstone, Marnick Vermijl, Ryan Tunnicliffe, Davide Petrucci, Tyler Blackett, Nick Powell and Federico Macheda are in fantastic fitness state after traveling with the first team to South Africa and China
Joyce explained:
“Obviously, it’s good for them to be in and around the first team, They get a little taster of that but it’s also hard when they go away sometimes. When they’re travelling around, maybe they don’t work as much as they might have done if they were just preparing normally like the lads who have stayed.
“One or two found it difficult to last the pace of the game [at Peterborough] which is a bit disappointing in pre-season and just shows maybe where their levels are at when playing against a Championship side – especially if they hope to play in the Premier League.
“We’ll wait how it pans out and see who steps into the first-team squad and who goes out on loan. Then we’ll see who we’ve got left to work with. We’ve got quite high numbers at the minute, which is unusual for me to have, and, until that sorts itself out, we’re just looking to improve players.”
