England U21s boss Aidy Boothroyd says his squad learnt some important lessons during their victory over Andorra on Tuesday evening.
The Young Lions endured a frustrating night against their hosts, with only Tom Davies’ second-half goal to show for all of their possession and chances.
And after making multiple changes to his side following last week’s victory over Scotland, the head coach believes he can take plenty away from the game.
"It's a good lesson for us today,” admitted Boothroyd.
“When you come to a nation like this, you’re always expected to win big and if you don’t, it’s seen as a disappointment.
"They got beat 6-0 by Ukraine and their coach, talking to him afterwards, said they didn't want to be embarrassed by England so they put a 5-4-1 out and were really difficult to break down.
"We were desperate to score, and whenever you're like that, on a pitch like that, you get edgy and that game could've been a 4-0 win, or a 1-1 draw.
"In many ways, I wasn't kidding when I said the nicest thing about it was the view of the Pyrenees, because it was.
"But I think it's a good lesson because if you're in the first team that's what you have to deal with.”
Boothroyd was also able to use the match to provide game time for his squad, meaning that from the four games so far this term, all of the outfield players have had a chance to impress.
And he believes that’s important for the long-term, with a two-year campaign ahead and the potential disruption of injuries along the way.
"I thought long and hard about making changes,” he admitted.
“But when you have lads who are travelling everywhere and deserve a crack, I thought it was a good game to play them in.
"I wanted to get them all on the pitch, because if we lose players through injury, we need these lads to step up, so it was good from this point of view.
"We've got to learn from it though.”
Next month sees the Young Lions in action just once, when they travel to face Ukraine in Kiev on Friday 10 November.
After that, the team will return to home soil for a training camp as Boothroyd wants to keep on working with his players in what will be their last meet-up until March.
"It's a long way to go to Ukraine and we had the option of a friendly after that,” he revealed.
“But I think it will be more beneficial to get on the training ground and get everyone on the same page.
“I am not going to see them until March time as a group. We’ll make sure we make the most of it."
