Coach Ray Jones refused to be overly downcast following Colts' Charity Cup thumping and insisted his newly promoted team would be "prepared and ready" for their first season back in the top-flight.

Colts won the First Division title, shield and FA Cup last season, but suffered a severe bout of stage fright against Cougars, conceding three goals in quick succession before half-time.

But despite the absence of a plethora of key players through suspension, Jones stressed his team had no excuses for their heavy loss but said was he was not too concerned by their display.

"I felt a few of our players looked a little nervous and it's true we had a very young defence without much experience," he said.

"The fact we were missing players is no excuse as these guys are all part of the first team squad – Cougars more than deserved victory. But I've no doubt that when the season starts we will be prepared and ready.

"The scoreline makes us look bad but I thought going forward we had our moments."

The introduction of attacker Phil Anderson, a recent signing from Commercial League MR Onions, coincided with a much-improved second-half showing and Jones envisages him and star striker Aljame Zuill forging a potent partnership.

"I thought Phil (Anderson) had an impact when he came on and allowed us to switch our formation.

"He played for me in the ISL with Knights so I know what he can do.

"He is the sort of player that can help our transition moving the ball from defence to attack and I think he could play well with Aljame (Zuill)."

Opposite number Shawn Smith paid tribute to his skipper Kwame Steede following his hat-trick heroics, before urging his team not to get carried away with their hefty victory.

"People may say the result sends out a message to the rest the league and I know some of players talk about going unbeaten this season. But I'm just thinking about our next game – we must take each game as it comes.

"I thought Kwame was excellent and he always leads by example. You can definitely see his game is at another level after his overseas experience with the Hogges.

"I've certainly seen a difference in his awareness of space and the intelligence of the runs he makes. Both Raymond Beach and Darius Cox have also come back better players from the Hogges."

Steede also revealed his own thoughts on his development as a player citing his time in the USL-D2 as adding another dimension to his game.

"The Hogges experience has improved me as a player and I now feel I've another dimension to me," he said. "It was a valuable football education for me and I'm feeling sharp at the moment.

"This was the second-hat-trick of my career so I'm pleased with that. Cougars are a counter-attacking team and we absorbed their pressure – most of our goals were on the break."

One player less familiar to the Cougars' faithful was Smith's sole summer signing Kijuan Franks, from St. David's, who gave a towering display at centre-half, shackling the free-scoring Aljame Zuill.

"Kijuan has blended in really well and he's a humble sort of guy. He gives us a physical presence at the back and I think he will have a big season for us."