Motherwell manager Alfred Johansson described the 4-0 friendly defeat to Danish champions AGF Aarhus as the 'intense' test his side required, following his first match in charge at the Fir Park club.
The Steelmen concluded their week-long training camp in Denmark with a one-sided contest at the Aarhus training ground. AGF took an early lead after just three minutes and extended their advantage in the second half amid numerous substitutions from both teams.
Strong first half lineup but key absentees
Johansson fielded a relatively strong side in the opening period, including Elliot Watt, Jordan McGhee, Stephen O'Donnell, Lukas Fadinger, and Apostolos Stamatelopoulos. However, several key players were missing: Elijah Just was absent following his World Cup exploits with New Zealand, while Tawanda Maswanhise, Calum Ward, Ibrahim Said, and new signings Martin Moorman and Willy Vogt were also unavailable.
Despite the scoreline, the Swedish manager expressed satisfaction with the effort displayed and emphasised the value of facing high-calibre opposition. He told the club media: "From a performance perspective, it was obviously tough. We knew we were going to face a tough team who won the Danish Championship last year and are going to try and qualify for the Champions League, so we knew they were a good team."
Johansson: 'This is exactly what we need'
Johansson drew parallels to Motherwell's pre-season camp in Holland last season, when they faced FC Twente. "They were better than us but, similarly to last season when Motherwell played FC Twente away in the pre-season camp in Holland, we need this kind of intensity," he said. "If you try to play against someone of a really high level, then you have to adapt so this is exactly what we need to get up to speed."
He acknowledged the physical toll on his players, who have been undertaking double sessions. "It is tough on the boys after having a couple of weeks with a lot of double sessions and heavy legs. So then, at the same time, to ask them to go at a higher speed it is exactly what we need. The guys did everything that they could."
While competitive by nature, Johansson downplayed the importance of the result. "I would say that you go into these games and you try to win them, that's what you try to do. But the importance of the result in a friendly game is not big. You need to get everyone through the game safe and sound without injuries. Then you will see that we tried to maintain and play our style. We tried, but AGF were good and it was difficult for us to try and do what we wanted to do."
Academy players given opportunity
In the second half, Motherwell fielded several academy players, including those born in 2009 and 2010. Johansson commented: "In the second half, even though AGF also became younger, we had a lot of 2009, 2010 players on the pitch so asking for a result right now is not where we are at at this point. I'm mainly focused on the effort and the bravery. That's just where we are in pre-season right now but we made the most of it."
He praised the young players' fearlessness despite mistakes. "They were fearless and making a lot of mistakes - which is totally fine and expected - but it is more about how you react to it. I think they did well in that and they need to continue to improve to get minutes in the first team. For many of them that is quite far ahead in the future so they need to use these minutes as good as they can and see it in a positive way that they've had this chance."
Next steps: Genk friendly and European qualifier
Motherwell return to Scotland on the following day. Their first competitive fixture is scheduled for Thursday, July 23, when they face Faroe Islands side Havnar Bóltfelag in the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round at Fir Park. Before that, fans will see Johansson's side on home soil in a friendly against Genk on Friday night.
Reflecting on the camp, Johansson said: "It has been a really good camp. We have started to lay the foundations and all credit to the boys for that."
