BRISTOL City boss Derek McInnes believes a derby showdown with Bristol Rovers is exactly what his players need ten days before the start of the new football season.
The red and blue halves of Bristol's football divide are due to collide at Ashton Gate in a testimonial match for long-serving Robins defender Louis Carey on Saturday, August 4.
And McInnes insists the first meeting between the two clubs in five-and-a-half years will be altogether different from any other pre-season friendly fixture.
City take on Gillingham in the Capital One Cup in their first competitive game of the season on Tuesday, August 14, and McInnes views the derby encounter as a vital plank in City's preparations.
He said: "Louis considered a number of different clubs, but when Bristol Rovers came up, it appealed on a number of levels.
"Given that it comes ten days before our first competitive game against Gillingham (in the League Cup), I wanted a competitive match.
"I hope it will be a great day for Louis Carey and that lots of people turn up and enjoy themselves. But by the same token, there will be a real edge and bite to the game and that can only be good in terms of our pre-season preparation.
"It can sometimes be difficult to generate the intensity of a competitive match in pre-season, but that will not be a problem in this case.
"Knowing Mark (McGhee, Rovers manager), he will want to put out a strong team and take the game seriously. It is a derby after all and I'm sure Rovers will want to try to win it for their fans. We have to make sure we are ready for that and prepared to put in a winning performance in front of our supporters."
City are on a pre-season tour to Scotland this week and McInnes plans to use as many players as possible in the three matches to hone fitness. Thereafter, he will select his strongest squad for subsequent friendly fixtures against Rovers, Southampton and Bournemouth.
He said: "Depending on signings, I would like to think my strongest team will be taking shape by the time we play Rovers.
"While the early games in Scotland are important, the chief aim is to generate fitness at that stage of pre-season.
"Once we come back from Scotland, then my focus will switch to trying to win games. I want the players to go into the first game of the season in a good place and a positive frame of mind on the back of some good performances and results.
"Although pre-season results are never really an indication of how the campaign is going to go, you really don't want your players struggling for form and results.
"Ideally, I would like to see my team going into the first game against Gillingham having played well and won friendly matches against Bristol Rovers, Southampton and Bournemouth."
Tickets are on sale for Carey's testimonial game, priced £15 (adults), £12 (OAPs) and £10 (under-16s), and can be booked in person at Ashton Gate or by calling 0117 963 0600. No tickets will be sold on the day of the game, which has a 1pm kick-off.
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