Lee Carsley felt that today’s Development squad victory over Biggleswade United ticked all the boxes in terms of a pre-season friendly.

A brace from Zain Westbrooke had The Bees 2-0 ahead at the break and a comfortable win was confirmed thank to second-half goals from Jan Holldack, Montell Moore and Herson Rodrigues Alves.

Speaking to Bees Player after the match Lee said it was a good physical workout for his team but he was also pleased with how his side coped with the hard, bumpy pitch at Second Meadow.

“I thought it was a good workout for the lads,” said Lee. “They were coming off a tough week in terms of training and the amount of work that we had put into them. They are playing under fatigue, which was the idea, and that will increase their fitness.”

“We have won 5-0 and we were playing against a part-time team so I don’t really look too much at the result but the players looked powerful and they looked strong. I thought the substitutions affected the flow of the game and the way we played but everybody got 60 minutes and there were no injuries so I am really happy with that. The pitch was hard and there were a few bobbles but the lads had a really good attitude and got on with it.”

Despite it only being pre-season Lee was also very pleased with his side’s attacking intent and the five goals that they scored.

The former Everton and Republic of Ireland midfielder told Bees Player: “Scoring five goals today was brilliant for the lads. It was really pleasing to see the number of people that we got into the box when we looked to cross the ball or we had attacking play. We had six players in the box at times and it looked like we had it secure outside the box for when it was cleared as well. A lot of the things that we had been working on, on and off the ball, are being seen in games so that is good.”

Next up for the Development Squad is a visit to Wheatsheaf Park and Staines Town on Tuesday night before they travel to Scotland for a Training Camp next weekend.

Lee is expected a stiffer test on Tuesday night but is confident of a positive performance and result given how the team have stood up to challenges so far this pre-season.

“Today was about the fitness really,” said Lee. “We will have tougher opposition on Tuesday against Staines Town and then the two games in Scotland will be of a good standard. Hopefully we can get another tough game when we come back on August 4th. The lads have coped with every situation that we have thrown at them over the last week so we are really happy with them. Staines are in a higher league that Biggleswade today and I know that Staines beat the lads last season. I am expecting a competitive game.”

Bees Player subscribers can watch the full interview with Lee below