Cairney admits the last six weeks have been one of the toughest but most beneficial pre-seasons he has been through and the 21-year-old says all of the players are ready for the action to begin when City take on Rotherham United in the Capital One League Cup at the KC Stadium on Saturday.
“We’ve done a lot of very hard work,” said Cairney.
“Portugal was tough and we were really put through our paces out there. I’d say it’s probably one of the hardest pre-seasons I’ve been involved with, but I think we’re all raring to go now and start the competitive games.
“You can’t read a lot into pre-season results. We want to win every game, but I remember we beat Liverpool 3-0 last summer and it didn’t really mean anything once the season started.
“The real business starts from now and this is when we really want to kick on.”
You can read a full interview with Tom Cairney in Saturday’s new-look Matchday Programme. The 48-page edition will be on sale around the ground priced £2.