Chris Allen believes it will take some time for the Under-21s to get up to speed in their Professional Development League campaign.
The development side fell to a 2-0 defeat against AFC Bournemouth at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Speaking after the final whistle, Assistant Senior Professional Development Phase Coach Allen analysed the performance and gave his immediate reaction after the final whistle.
Reaction to the game…
“A good game to come back to for the first game of the season at the Arena which we've had good fortune at last season but didn't get near that today.
“It looked like Bournemouth are further ahead in terms of their pre-season versus our pre-season.
“Some of the lads have had a great experience going up with the first team and getting that side of it, but they're lacking minutes and you saw that today.
“But no excuses really, and truly, they still need to push themselves to the maximum which we fell short in and around their box.”
Getting up to speed…
“When you’ve played five or six pre-season games, and then you go into the first game of the season, you’re almost there.
“It's going to take us about three or four games before we get our legs get going. But there's no excuses and I still think you still need to push yourself as much as you can and don't use fitness levels as an excuse.
“We didn't really test that goalkeeper a little bit until later on with Danny Cashman a couple of times and the keepers made some good saves, but other than that didn't really test them.”
Bournemouth goal changing the game…
“Justin had a great chance with a header at the back post and then Evan got in a box, but his strike was weak.
“Then they got a deflected free kick and then that changed the game a little bit and they started to tick a little bit more and grabbed control.
“At the end we've got a bit more momentum, but they tried to protect their lead and you're thinking go on, let's go and try and get an equaliser but it's building blocks for first game in a season.
“There'll be a lot better as the season progresses and you're thinking I'll learn a lot more from the first game.
“It seems like someone forgotten what it takes, and what you need to do in in your role in a team environment.”
Kai Andrews debut…
“Fantastic achievement for the club itself and for Kai as an individual.
“But you just don't sit on your laurels. He's come on for what 10 seconds and that's great, but don't get carried away with it, because he hasn't achieved anything.
“You just need to get down and work hard and get himself amongst it as much as you can and that should spur him on to go and do some fantastic things.”