Ireland trip gets pre-season off to flyer

Last updated : 24 July 2012 By Luke Thornhill

The Iron were due to fly back to the United Kingdom on Friday, having spent five days based at Carton House in the Republic.

They played two friendlies during the trip, registering 1-0 wins at Bray Wanderers and Wayside Celtic.

The Iron squad training at Carton House hotel

Simon Elliott, the former Iron director who is now chief executive of Volkswagen Group Ireland, out the trip together.

"I was delighted to organise the pre-season tour and hope the players and management got what they wanted from it," he said.

"Carton House was amazing in terms of facilities and service, and both clubs we played gave us good games and welcomed us with open arms.

"Being around the players and management again was a real pleasure and I was really impressed with camaraderie and togetherness that bodes well for the season."

Alan Knill, the Iron's manager, felt the trip was a great start to pre-season for his side.

"It has been a good trip, the facilities at the hotel are excellent. I’m pleased with where we are at this stage of pre-season," he told the Scunthorpe Telegraph.

“We’ve worked on a couple of different shapes while we’ve been over here because I want us to be flexible in what we do."