Darren Moore felt the Leasing.com Trophy tie at Rotherham United was a good workout for his players.
Rovers were defeated 3-2 at the AESSEAL New York Stadium, but Moore believes there were plenty of positives to take.
He said: “We wanted to give some of the younger players a run out and see how they would handle this sort of environment.
“It showed them the levels they need to be at to be able to be in and around the first-team on a regular basis.
“From a learning perspective and some of the lads needing minutes I felt it was a really good exercise for us.”
With one game remaining in the group stage, Rovers know a win against Manchester United U21s would take them through to the knockout phase of the competition.
He added: “We’ve got one game left in the group stage and we’re very much still in the competition and wanting to go through.
“Whichever team Manchester United bring down it will be a challenge for us, but we will go into it believing in ourselves.
“While we’re disappointed with the result I’m looking at the bigger picture and my younger players will have learnt so much from it.”
