Al-Ittihad's new head coach Jens Weissing has picked out the positives from the German's training camp in the Spanish city of Marbella.
The Saudi side wrapped up their stay in Spain with two friendlies on Thursday. They fell 4-2 to Real Mallorca, then drew 2-2 with Malaga in their final outings in Marbella.
Speaking to Al-Ittihad's official account on X after the two games, Weissing said: "We concluded the final days of the camp by playing two strong friendly matches against two Spanish teams, which are good sides that are not easy to face."
"I am very satisfied with the players' performance today, and also throughout the camp as I told them," he added. "Many thanks to them for their commitment over the past weeks."
He continued: "We started well in Jeddah, then we went through two and a half weeks of very tough times in Marbella, and I see great progress in both physical and tactical aspects, as well as a cohesive group and very good energy."
The German was quick to keep expectations in check. "Of course, not everything is perfect, and it cannot be at this stage, but as I said, I see great progress, improvement and development, and that for me is the most important thing," he noted.
His closing thoughts turned to the road ahead: "Now we must rest for a few days, then we continue in Jeddah for the final phase of preparation before the start of the new season."
Al-Ittihad kicked off their Spanish camp in the middle of July. They won their opening two matches, beating South Africa's Orlando Pirates 3-2 and Spain's Las Palmas 2-1, before the games against Real Mallorca and Malaga.
"The Tigers" fly back to Jeddah within the next few hours to begin the third and final phase of their preparations for the new campaign.
First up in the new season is the UAE's Al-Jazira. The two sides meet in the play-off qualifier for the AFC Champions League Elite on 11 August.