Joey Gudjonsson's composed finish right on half-time proved enough to win at Firhill, but Coyle expects Burnley's passing to be sharper when they kick-off the campaign at Sheffield Wednesday on August 9th.

While pleased with the way the squad are progressing, as they look for peak fitness, he said: "It's been a big ask first of all to get that fitness base, and I think we're there or thereabouts now.

"Now we can start introducing everything short and sharp into the training and look to start maximising that.

"We scored a good goal and could have had a few others, I'm pleased about the shut-out, but having said that we know there's room for improvement and we'll look to do that.

"We know we can pass and move the ball a lot better than what we did overall. I think we showed it in fits and starts.

"We could have scored a terrific goal in the second half when Ade (Akinbiyi) got in and the keeper's made a great save.

"But the reason I'm making that point is that's the type of football we're looking to play, we just didn't do it often enough.

"Partick Thistle start their season proper on Saturday, whereas we don't start until August 9th - two weeks behind - so we knew it was always going to be difficult, but I thought we looked strong and had spells in the second half where we could have probably scored another goal.

"We created numerous chances and we're pleased with the overall level of fitness, but the level of performance I think we can strive to be better than what we showed."