Town boss Paul Jewell was happy enough with his side’s first half performance during the 1-1 draw at Southend but was less pleased with his team’s display after the break.

Jewell said: “In the first half I thought we played very well. We had a little look at a different system that we might play next season in certain games.

“In the first half hour we were certainly very good. In the second, it was like chalk and cheese really, it was a disappointing performance in the second half but these pre-season games are all about getting fit.”

The Blues had a tendency to fade after the break during 2010/11, something the Town boss says they need to overcome: “It’s a trait of ours that we had last season that we’ve got to put right — when we come under a bit of pressure we give possession away too cheaply. They made the pitch big, whereas in the first half we were in complete control of the game.

“In the second half we didn’t start off right and if you don’t start off right it’s always going to be difficult.

“It was a decent tempo, fair play to Southend, they were the better team for periods of the second half. We had a couple of chances which we should have scored but we didn’t.

“These pre-season games you can get false aspirations one way or the other, but I think we all know we’re at least a couple of players short.”

Jewell confirmed that strikers Michael Chopra and Tamás Priskin are not suffering with serious injuries: “Michael just hurt his ankle in the first half and obviously we don’t want to be taking any chances. It was nothing serious but we whipped him off straight away. It was just a precaution.

“Tamás got a knee in his back yesterday and it was a bit sore and a bit stiff this morning, but nothing serious.”

Story syndicated from TWTD.co.uk

Photo: Action Images

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