“I think the better games you can play, the better for the team for pre-season,” Iraola told afcbTV.

“There will be demanding games.

“They are both La Liga teams. Girona is also playing Champions League this season. I obviously know them very well.

 

“But this is what you want, to have a good preparation.

“Even sometimes it is better to lose but it really be a demanding game, than the opposite.

“So I am looking forward to preparing well, to grow and when results matter more it will be when we face Forest in the first game.”

 

Asked how his squad are shaping up having been back in training for a week, Iraola added: “Not just our players, but overall I think players now are very professional.

“They know they have to take care, especially when they are away, they have to do their job, running, the gym.

“They’ve come back in a really good spot. We still have five weeks to prepare for the first game of the season. I hope the pre-season goes well and we can arrive in a good place.

“The main focus right now is to recover fitness.

“We try to do as much as we can with the ball.