Nuno Espirito Santo has carried the group from the Championship to Europe and is now preparing for the fresh challenge in Shanghai this pre-season. Looking ahead to the Asia Trophy opening match against Newcastle United, Bennett spoke positively of the team’s experiences out in Asia.
On the Chinese welcome
“It was good, there were a lot of people at the hotel, we got a good welcome, you saw the posters and the banners there, we had a few pictures and were made to feel very welcome.
“As an experience, it's very good. We deserve what we've got, we've worked hard for two years to put ourselves in this position. Hopefully it's something we can enjoy and benefit from it.”
On a young group
“Some of the youngsters have got big experiences themselves, the likes of Ruben Neves have been away for the Nations League and won it.
“The experiences they've been through in the past will stand us in good stead for what we've got coming.
“We're a tight-knit group, we work hard together and always pass on our experiences to each other. We'll take each game as it comes.”
On the Europa League
“It’s obviously a good competition, first and foremost. It’s something we worked very hard for last year, to gain entry. We worked hard every single week to put ourselves in a position to enable us to play these games.
“We’re looking to go out there and take each game as it comes and try and get as far as we can in the competition. That’s the minimum we’ll try and do.”
