Speaking to the official West Bromwich Albion club website after the match which finished in a 1-1 draw, Di Matteo said: "I wasn't particularly happy with our first-half display - but I was very pleased with the second half.
"We need to understand that, to be able to play our football, first and foremost we have to compete. "We did that in the second half.
"Once we started to win tackles and second balls, our quality started to come through and we created plenty of chances. "We do need to be better in front of goal but everyone will be sharper by the time the new season kicks off.
"But in the first half, I wasn't happy. "We were slow in possession, there was little urgency in our play and it seemed like 'it's only a pre-season friendly'. "But we're only two weeks away from the opening game so we need to step up the tempo and urgency a little bit and slowly start getting ready.
"We're not quite there yet physically but I still wanted a bit more today - and I got that in the second half. "Of course, pre-season results don't matter but you learn more about your team with each friendly - as I did today."
"Once we started to win tackles and second balls, our quality started to come through and we created plenty of chances. "We do need to be better in front of goal but everyone will be sharper by the time the new season kicks off.
"But in the first half, I wasn't happy. "We were slow in possession, there was little urgency in our play and it seemed like 'it's only a pre-season friendly'. "But we're only two weeks away from the opening game so we need to step up the tempo and urgency a little bit and slowly start getting ready.
"We're not quite there yet physically but I still wanted a bit more today - and I got that in the second half. "Of course, pre-season results don't matter but you learn more about your team with each friendly - as I did today."