Joel Senior admitted there was plenty he and his Bristol Rovers teammates could learn from Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Cardiff City.
Rovers’ pre-season schedule ended with a loss to the Sky Bet Championship side as Aaron Ramsey and Joe Ralls got the goals for the away side at The Memorial Stadium.
A close-fought outing, Senior did not feel Rovers were at their best in the pre-season conclusion but believes there was plenty to take into next week’s Sky Bet League One opener against Northampton Town.
“It was a tough game,” he said. “It was one that we can definitely learn a lot from. It was good to test ourselves against a very good opponent.
“The first 60 minutes were tough in terms of the press, and when we did regain it with our press we perhaps lacked a bit of quality on the ball. After 60 minutes, I thought we played better, but it wasn’t quite our day and we just didn’t show our ability and our very best. But it was a good test and a good runout ahead of the start of the season next week.”
Senior was one of seven players to join the Gas before the start of pre-season. Six weeks later, the defender is feeling right at home in BS7 and has relished the hard work done during the hectic summer schedule.
He continued: “I’ve really enjoyed pre-season. It has been a good step-up for me personally. I feel like I will only get better now too after a lot of hard work. It’s been good to get to know all the boys too. It’s a squad that’s still gelling. It’s been a long and tough pre-season but I’ve also enjoyed every second of it. We can’t wait for the new season to start.
“This is a really good group here. I’m one of 12 new lads to come in and we’re still learning about each other and that will all come with more time together, more time training together and more time playing together. It’s a good group we’ve got, with a good team spirit, and that could carry us to some really good things.”
Senior and his teammates will now enjoy a full week of training before facing Northampton Town at The Mem on Saturday 10 August, and the right-back is eager to kick-off the new campaign in the best possible way.
Central to that will be the passion of the home support at The Memorial Stadium, something Senior experienced for the first time in the past week.
He added: “I’m excited for our first competitive game now. It’s what we as players play for. It’s what we look forward to the most. It’s going to be a tough game but we’re hoping to put on a good showing and start the season well.
“Playing at The Mem has been really good. We’ve had two games here now in pre-season and the atmosphere has been brilliant. I was also here for the Funday and I couldn’t believe how many people turned out for that. It shows just how well supported Bristol Rovers is and what a big Club this is. Playing here on Tuesday and Saturday was really enjoyable and I can’t wait to play more games here.”
