Craig Bellamy is looking forward to the pre-season action being taken up another level starting with Sunday night's contest at Columbus Crew.
In temperatures approaching 35C under a clear blue sky in Ohio, the squad were put through their paces on Saturday morning with a session at the Crew Stadium home of the Major League Soccer club. Bellamy headed out to the United States on a positive note - not just because he scored twice in the first pre-season game at Hampton and Richmond Borough but because he got a good run-out in the 4-2 win .
Bellamy said: "I always get a little bit nervous in the first games of pre-season. In the past, I have done my cruciate [ligament], I have done my ankle - so pre-season has usually been quite mixed for me. To come through my first game unscathed is great and to get a couple of goals is a bonus.
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"It was great to get the first game out of the way. You do all the training but it is still not the same as a game. [Against Columbus and the MLS All-Stars on Thursday] it is going to be another level, they are going to test us even more. We are all gearing up for the first game of the season. It was nice to get a couple of goals but the main thing has just been to get out there and I am looking forward to another couple of run-outs."
Bellamy paid tribute to Alan Devonshire's Hampton and Richmond, describing their approach as "brilliant" and added "it was nice to get a rhythm going". There were other positives to report. "It was the first time I have played with a lot of the players and that was another bonus. It was good working with Dean [Ashton] and Carlton [Cole] did really well for my second. He got Julien [Faubert] down the wing and it was a great cross. It was the first time I have played with Julien, first time with Scotty."