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First Team

Parker previews Braga training game

Scott Parker has spoken to afcb.co.uk about his side's trip to Portugal and admitted that he's looking forward to Tuesday's training game against Braga. 

The Cherries face the Portuguese side to round off the tour, having already played Sheffield Wednesday on Friday. 

The head coach discussed the importance of the fixture and what he was hoping his side would get out of it. 

"Braga will be a big test for us again," Parker said. 

"The most important thing is just minutes at the moment. There's certain bits we want to come out in games which we're working on. We want to see that with every game really.

"Most important to us is getting minutes and getting lads to a level where they're feeling fitter every game. 

"It'll be a good test for us in the heat and hopefully we can continue to build every time we go out on that pitch." 

Parker continued by summing up the trip in general and how crucial the pre-season is for his side. 

"The ten days are really key to getting good work in.

"We want to hopefully try and stay away from injuries. That's really important. When you're fatigued and pushing as hard as we are, there's always a chance of some casualties. 

"It's also great to have the squad together, we've had some quality time together where we can get a lot of meetings in.

"We can explain exactly what we want to be this year and our actual style, so it's an enjoyable ten days."