Walsall Head Coach Matt Taylor has expressed his satisfaction with his side's ruthlessness as they put five past Kidderminster Harriers on Saturday.
Emmanuel Osadebe's well-worked goal put the Saddlers ahead before the midfielder doubled his tally with an impressive curling effort from outside the penalty area.
Summer signings Conor Wilkinson, Kieran Phillips and Brendan Kiernan added to the scoring in Taylor's third game in charge at his new club.
Despite the demolition of Kidderminster, Taylor continued to challenge his players, insisting there is still plenty of work to be done.
"I thought the first 20-25 minutes we didn't make enough good decision in possession; we didn't play through the midfield enough and probably didn't press with enough intensity but you can see what happens to the players when they score the first goal.
"It gives them confidence in what we're asking them to do.
"It's the first game since we've started pre-season that we've dominated possession," Taylor added.
"There's lots for the players to learn and we're talking a lot in training about making sure we're in the correct position when we're building and rotations in the middle of the pitch and making sure we're creating space to play and what impressed me more than anything was our ruthlessness in front of goal.
"We've had nine chances and come away with five goals so I'm really happy and that will allow the players to gain some more confidence as we get closer to the beginning of the season."
Taylor praises travelling Saddlers
Saturday's victory was the first chance for Walsall supporters' to view their team at an away ground for the first time since the 0-0 away draw at Newport County in February 2020.
After witnessing the return of fans at the Banks's Stadium in the defeats to Premier League sides Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, Taylor praised the 403 fans who made the short trip to Aggborough ahead of the visit of West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday evening.
"It'll be a different test because the two previous fixtures to this one we were underdogs and didn't have enough possession in those games and the possession we did have, we didn't make it count so West Brom will be a similar game to that.
"They're preparing for their season so we need to make sure that we're adequate out of possession and make better decisions when we go for spells without the ball.
"We're really looking forward to it. I hope the fans can come back and support us, I thought they were fantastic (at Kidderminster). They've come in their numbers, considering its pre-season and not to be undervalued so I'm really pleased.
"They're on this journey with us and we want to make sure that throughout the season we put in good performances. There are going to be tough times during the season but it was nice to see so many of them at Kidderminster."
Walsall face the Baggies on Tuesday evening being capping off their pre-season schedule with a trip to League One side Cheltenham. Taylor's first competitive game as Walsall Head Coach comes on Saturday 7 August at Tranmere Rovers.