Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman knows that tomorrow night's tie against Leeds United Under-21s will be a tough game, as well as another chance for his side to try out their new system.
The Reds began the 2020/21 season with a penalty shootout defeat to Burton Albion in the Carabao Cup, but Coleman explained that there were certainly good points from the game.
"We gave them the weekend off to be honest, they've had a demanding week and it's not nice to lose on penalties, at least we didn't lose the game.
"As I said after the game, neither of us are going to win that cup and with the lack of crowds, unless you get on television you don't really make any money out of it.
"It's useful as a good game to be a pre-cursor to the season, which I'm sure a lot of teams will look at it like that.
"I watched the video last night, and there were things that we can improve on but there were certainly good points."
Coleman also admitted that midfielder Joe Pritchard will be a doubt for tomorrow night's EFL Trophy tie.
"Joe Pritchard got a knock, I don't think he'll be fit for tomorrow, but we will have plenty to be able to cope with the game."
The Reds have brought in eight new faces so far this summer, but Coleman wants the fans to be mindful that success can't be bought.
"We still haven't got an idea of what our budget will be so it's a lot of guesswork between myself and the chairman, Andy Holt is quite an astute chairman so he won't over spend and he wont push the club to the brink which is the right way to do it.
"You'd like to think that every club is learning, I think we've been run quite well for the last few years.
"The same can't be said for a lot of clubs who have overspent and pushed themselves to the limit of administration.
"You've got to be mindful, I know the fans want success and think it can be bought, but we all know it can't."
Stanley reached the Quarter-Finals stage of the EFL Trophy last season, and Coleman admitted that tomorrow night's game will give his squad another chance to work on their playing system.
"I'm looking forward to the game tomorrow, it's another chance for us to stretch our legs and work on the system that we're playing, and work on the new players.
"What a lot of people forget is that apart from Mark Hughes, who's come back fitter than ever, every other player is under-25 who played on Friday.
"Obviously we've got Seamus Conneely to come into that but we are quite a young squad.
"We'll be giving it our best shot tomorrow, I'm sure Leeds will come full of beans and have a good side out, we've got to do our best to try and win the game."
Coleman is also hopeful that he can bring in a goalkeeper on loan in the coming days.
"We've got a couple of irons in the fire, we've got one really strong one but we're just waiting on other clubs getting another keeper.
"We've got two third-choice keepers from big clubs, who are ready to come once they get another keeper in.
"I've got no hesitation in playing Toby, he's done really well and I think he'll continue to do really well."
The full pre-match interview video with John Coleman is available to watch on the club's official YouTube channel, CLICK HERE to find out more!