“It was very good – very similar to the Championship, and that’s what you need,” Moore said after a high-tempo affair against Genclerbirligi on Saturday evening – the second of two games in a day for the Royals, following an earlier encounter against KV Kortrijk.
“You don’t want to come out here and play games that are tippy-tappy, because when you go into the proper games in a couple of weeks’ time you won’t expect what’s coming at you.
“Fair play to them – they were decent. I thought we did well; we’re disappointed to concede two goals but it is pre-season and we’re learning.”
Indeed, the match against the Ankara-based club was played in a competitive spirit at Papendal – and ended all square at 2-2, with Adi Popa and Roy Beerens netting for Reading.
“A big thing that we’ve worked on so far in pre-season is high intensity,” Liam continued. “I think you can see in the stats that the boys took that on board today.
“I’ve missed it. We had a game last week which had a bit of a pre-season feel about it, but today was definitely physical and more like a Championship game. The lads will relish that.
“You want to build on the fitness – but you also have to remember that we didn’t have too long off this year and that shouldn’t be too much of a problem. It’s all about the quality and raising the standard.
“Last year was good, but let’s try and do better this year. That’s been the message so far – we want to be more aggressive and we’re starting to show that, but we need to carry on and improve as well. All in all it has been a good trip so far, but we’ve still got a week to go.”
The Royals’ next games come on Saturday 22nd July, when Sparta Rotterdam and Cercle Brugge will provide the opposition in Oosterbeek.
