Martin Smith felt there were plenty of positives to take from his side's 2-0 pre-season friendly defeat to Portsmouth on Saturday.
Town performed well in flashes against their League One counterparts but were undone by two second-half goals, although the majority of players that started the game got a full 90-minutes under their belts which would have been a big plus for Phil Brown.
And Smith feels Town just need to tidy up around the edges and they will be raring to go for the Sky Bet League Two curtain raiser.
"It was beneficial. It was what we needed in terms of more minutes in the tank and it was a tough test, a good test against another team in a higher division," he said.
"There are things we can take from the game that we can learn from and it is just fine-tuning in both boxes.
"We'll get there because the general play is good and it has been all pre-season, so it is just tightening up on the minor details in both boxes.
"We'll get there.
"Results don't matter in pre-season. I've been involved in teams where we've won all of our games and then started the season poorly, and I've been involved in teams where we've lost every game in pre-season but then we've started like a house on fire.
"It is just getting the basics right, getting a really good level of match fitness and we're getting there and getting what we need out of it.
"Pre-season has been brilliant so far and all the lads are on the same page.
"There are things we can take from the game that we can learn from and it is just fine-tuning in both boxes - we'll get there."
"The Gaffer has brought a lot of players in so it is about getting a relationship with each player on the field.
"There are little relationships on the pitch and we are all getting used to each other but it is getting better every day and we've got to keep going in the same direction."
Smith has been asked to play in a number four role for the majority of pre-season and it is a position he's thoroughly enjoyed so far.
"The Gaffer wants me to play there at the moment and I'm loving it in the number four position in-front of the back-four," he added.
"I'm enjoying it and I get to see a lot of the ball so I've got to keep learning and keep working hard.
"We've got a really good balance in there (the midfield) now with what the Gaffer has brought in. We all complement each other and we give each other good competition.
"We have all different types of midfielders in there and that is exactly what the Gaffer wants, so we are going to learn each other's game and come 4th August we'll be ready to go."
