Head coach Matt Sherratt was pleased with his side’s first outing of the season against Ealing Trailfinders on Saturday.
The fixture gave the Blue and Blacks the opportunity to gain some valuable game time and blood several of their new signings.
But he did acknowledge that with the new additions both in the squad and coaching set up, it would take a little time for the side to gel.
“We got a lot out of the Ealing game to be honest,” said Sherratt. “It was a typical pre-season game to start with.
“I think they played Bristol the week before so they were probably a little bit more cohesive.
“It was just about getting people a run out, and integrating some of the new younger boys and I think we had 11 debuts, so there's a lot of change at the club this season, a lot of new players.
“We also have two new coaches, some new backroom staff, so it’s probably going to take a bit of time to get cohesive.
“We've had a very settled squad for a long time with the odd addition and the last two years there's been pretty much 30 players that have passed through the club, so we are in a real restart."
The Blue and Blacks face Bath Rugby on Friday night at the Arms Park in their final pre-season friendly before the BKT United Championship opener against Zebre Parma on 20th September.
Sherratt said it would be an opportunity to integrate some of Cardiff’s Wales internationals and more experienced back into the team, however it wouldn’t mean wholesale changes.
“There will be some changes. I think we're going to name a squad of 27 and it's been a contrast to last pre-season as it's been pretty short, and the Welsh boys have only been back in for a few weeks, so we'll try and get them on the pitch.
“It will be a case of not making many changes, but probably a few more senior players playing.
Sherratt took charge of the team as head coach at the beginning of last season, but is approaching this one as his first.
“It’s my second season and if I'm honest, it feels a little bit like my first season because everything happened fairly late last season and before we could breathe with all the late recruitment, we were into the season.
“It's been the first season with new staff and new players coming in, so it feels pretty fresh, but that does bring challenges as well. To get the team cohesive takes a bit of time. We're not a team that plays a low detail game.
“We have got lots of movement and ball movement and a couple of different shapes. It takes a little bit of time and what I've said to the players is there were mistakes on Saturday, there'll be mistakes Friday night, but that's all part of the learning curve try and get where we want to be for Zebre.”
He also confirmed that hooker Liam Belcher will captain the side, but will be supported by some of Cardiff’s new signings who have added leadership and experience to the squad.
“Liam Belcher will be captain after doing a great job last year,” added Sherratt.
“He's everything in terms of personality we talk about here, hardworking, and he gets on as well with the British Lions as he does with the Academy lads. He’s also a good mentor to the young hookers.
“He'll captain the side and I think hopefully it's obvious what we've tried to do in bringing in people who can support his captaincy.
“Josh McNally's got some really good leadership qualities, Alex Davies, Sheedy, Rory Jennings, that kind of 28-29 plus age group that can help out more in a match than training.”