Fulham's 10-day trip to Sweden is proving the ideal preparation for the new sesaon, as Aaron Hughes explained following Thursday night's 2-2 draw with Halmstad.
“The trip to Sweden has been fantastic so far, it’s a nice place to come and conduct our pre-season preparations," said Hughes. "We’ve been very fortunate with our facilities, they’re great and of course, the opposition has been good also.
“We’ve got one more game before we return home, and that will be another step towards where we want and need to be.
“It was a good experience on Thursday night. At the minute we’re obviously in pre-season and at the moment it’s all about our fitness. This was a good test for us.
“Halmstad were a big, strong, physical side and they worked very, very hard. In fact, they also made us work very, very hard. Which is what you want at this stage of the season.
“It was a good game, and we enjoyed the challenge and was good preparation for the new campaign."
Fulham will get their 2010/11 season underway against Bolton Wanderers on the 14th August and Hughes is targeting a successful domestic campaign following last season's European adventure.
“It will be hard to better last season, it’s a different challenge that lies ahead – obviously we’re not in Europe, so the league is the main priority. I think the aim has to be another solid league finish. We’d be very happy with that."