Walsall Head Coach Matthew Taylor has sought to concentrate on the positives following his side's four-nil pre-season defeat to Aston Villa.
The match, which is the latest in a string of games designed to prepare the team for the upcoming Sky Bet League Two campaign, was settled by two goals in each half as Ollie Watkins, Jaden Philogene-Bidace, and Aaron Ramsey all hit home.
Despite his team again failing to score, let alone win, the former midfielder was pleased with their overall display and wants his players to take the lessons from the match into their next outing.
Taylor has added eleven players to his squad so far this summer and insisted it will take time for his squad to settle and believes there are already plenty of positives to build upon.
Speaking to Express & Star reporter Matt Maher, Matthew said; "The players are a bit down at the moment, but I have told them when they turn up for training in the morning, I want them all to have a smile on their face.
The match, which is the latest in a string of games designed to prepare the team for the upcoming Sky Bet League Two campaign, was settled by two goals in each half as Ollie Watkins, Jaden Philogene-Bidace, and Aaron Ramsey all hit home.
Despite his team again failing to score, let alone win, the former midfielder was pleased with their overall display and wants his players to take the lessons from the match into their next outing.
Taylor has added eleven players to his squad so far this summer and insisted it will take time for his squad to settle and believes there are already plenty of positives to build upon.
Speaking to Express & Star reporter Matt Maher, Matthew said; "The players are a bit down at the moment, but I have told them when they turn up for training in the morning, I want them all to have a smile on their face.
"We are building toward August 7 and that is the main aim. This has given us a lot to learn from. This is a new group of players, a new group of staff and new ideas, and it is going to take time.
"You can see a team giving it 100 per cent out there for the shirt. Some of the blocks, some of the tackles and the recoveries were excellent.
"There are things we can work on. We have worked the players really hard coming into this fixture, and were they fresh? Definitely not. Villa fielded two complete XIs.
"For our players to be able to pit themselves against Premier League teams in the first two friendlies, I think is fantastic. We will leave no stone unturned."