John Sheridan was happy enough with his teams performance in the 1-2 win at Barrow and told the official website, "I always said that this game was about gaining fitness and a feel for the ball. I've played in games like this before and non-league sides always give you a tough time, so I'm pleased we got something out of it. I think this team has a lot more pace than last season's and that's important. Yes, we weren't brilliant in the first half, we were brighter in the second, but the important thing is getting that fitness back. In two or three weeks time, at the Sheffield Wednesday and Macclesfield games, that's when I'll be expecting high standards. To be honest we've not done very much football work yet, and this is the kind of game where you work on getting yourself in shape and take care of the ball. The kids did very well, and I've told them that they're in with the big boys now. They're not playing youth football any more. They've now got to create space for themselves and start seeing things more.""Craig Davies (pictured) gives us a little more pace up front, and he's been banging in the goals in training. I love Craig's attitude towards the game. I think he will be important to us and he will continue to learn. We'll be working with him on where he scores goals, because he puts in a lot of work outside the box too. Wolfy is another good player, and I've got a lot of time for him. I've told him things and he's another lad with a great attitude. He needs to try lots of different things and learn from people like Michael Owen who create openings for themselves."
"You could say it was a 4-5-1, but I designed it as a 4-3-3 with Andy Liddell and Chris Taylor pushing on. This was a system designed for fitness as I wanted players pushing up and down the pitch. It wasn't an experiment, and I think it's more than likely we'll be playing 4-4-2 at the start of the season. It's a system you can do very well with at this level."