Yates – That Was A Lesson In Total Football

The Cheltenham manager saw his side fortunate to escape the pre-season friendly with just a one goal defeat as the Swans hit the woodwork 5 times in what was a pretty one sides game,

Speaking after the game, Yates told their official website "It has been a really good end to a very good week. I got what I thought we would from the game and it was very hard work. I wanted the lads to play football against Swansea today so it would be hard work for them. It would have been easy just to drop off but we didn't do that and it gave me a chance to have a really good look at what we've got.

"We've done alright in pre-season so far and we have moved up a significant step today. We have got everything we wanted out of this game. It was a lot of hard work and we got a bit of a lesson in total football as well. There aren't many teams that can play the style of football that they do and Brendan (Rogers) will only add a new dimension to their game.

"My players are good athletes but Swansea kept the ball better than us in the first half. We didn't give ourselves enough options when we did have the ball but we're two weeks away from the start of the season and today's game was perfect for us.

"We've been lucky a few times today but it's not about that. Today has been all about us developing as a young team and results do not matter. I've taken a lot away from this game and I now know certain things we need to improve on and that is just what we needed.

"Don't read to much into any formations that we are playing at the moment because we are just trying to get minutes into the senior boys so they are ready for the new season. In a competitive game I would have probably changed our tactics after two minutes because their boy Lopez was pulling all the strings and they were causing us problems but I wanted the boys to find the solution and they did that just fine.

"I'm waiting to see what progress we make over the next week but Josh Klein-Davies wants the chance to come here and I'm not turning him away. I'll have a chat with him later but I thought he did well today and showed a few good touches.

"I can't get an answer on the loan striker just yet and that is just the way it goes sometimes but I am in the queue, along with a few other clubs, and if that means waiting another week then I will do. We have other options and possibilities but I'm not overly fussed if nothing happens going into the first week of the season.

"We only have two weeks to go but we are getting fitter and stronger as a group every day."