FC Edmonton returned from a pre-season tour in England feeling like a much-improved team.

Edmonton played four exhibition games on their 13-day trip to Manchester in preparation for their upcoming North America Soccer League season, which kicks off at the Jacksonville Armada FC on Sunday (2 p.m., ESPN 3).

“It was excellent, the best we’ve had since I’ve been in charge here,” said FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller. “Thanks to (owners) Tom and Dave Fath for funding the trip. The reasons we went there was to be challenged football-wise, in a genuine football environment and we were challenged.

“We had four fantastic games against four big clubs, two of them Premier League sides that had first-team players playing against us.”

FC Edmonton played Wigan Athletic Reserves, Burnley Under-23, Newcastle United U-23 and Stoke City U-23. They defeated Wigan 2-0, lost 2-1 to Burnley, defeated Newcastle United 5-1 and lost to Stoke City 4-0.

“I would put that pre-season against any other club in North America and that includes MLS in terms of competition that we played against,” Miller said. “I have to say, the feedback from the Burnley game, the Newcastle United game and the Stoke City game was that we were welcomed back to play against them at any time, they were so impressed by the standard of our side.”

The preseason tour was designed to get FC Edmonton up to game speed and help players bond for, what they hope, is another successful season.

FC Edmonton go into this year off their best NASL season to date, finishing third in the combined standings and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time under the split-season format introduced in 2013.

“Overall, it was a wonderful experience for the staff as well,” Miller said. “We also attended the Stoke versus Chelsea game, the Wigan versus Bristol City and Manchester United versus the Russian team (FC Rostov) in the Europa League as well as doing a tour of Old Trafford.

“It was very much a fantastic exercise just to be totally immersed in football, no other sports involved and it was wonderful.”

This year’s trip was similar to a tour of Scotland FC Edmonton embarked on last season. The club is hoping the trip helps them take another step towards a championship this year, having coming one game short of the final in 2016.

“I think it was great, we got to play against some good opposition,” said FC Edmonton midfielder Ben Fisk. “For me personally, it was good to get 90 minutes in a couple of times and start gelling as a team and working towards Jacksonville.”

Fisk along with captain Nik Ledgerwood and defender Adam Straith also took a side trip to join the Canadian national team for an exhibition game against Scotland. The trio headed to Edinburgh, Scotland where they all saw playing time in a 1-1 tie.

Ledgerwood and Straith played the entire 90 minutes, while Fisk entered the game as a second-half substitute.

“That was only my second game with the senior national team, so I was really proud to get on the field,” Fisk said. “My mom was actually at the game as well, so it was an honour to play in front of her. I only have good things to say about it, I really enjoyed it, and hopefully, it’s the second of many.”

The Canadian national team has been eliminated from qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russian and are going through a transition phase. Canada hired a new coach for the national team, Ecuadorian Octavio Zambrano, who attended the game, but was not on the sideline.

Back in North America, FC Edmonton are looking to get off to a good start in league play. After opening the year in Jacksonville, they will host the Armada in their home opener at Clarke Stadium on April 8.

“It was a great experience to play on that tour against guys who have played in the Premier League and at the highest levels,” Fisk said. “For us, it’s good to see that we can match up against them and get some results. I think, overall, for us, it was great to get some results and build some confidence and gel as a team.”

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