Nevertheless, Aitken found herself doing just that last night, after the Silver Ferns wrapped up a patchy first test against Jamaica in Christchurch 58-35 after leading 29-21 at halftime.
It was the New Zealanders' first real match of consequence as they build towards the defence of the Commonwealth Games title they won in Melbourne in 2006, and Aitken could almost have been described as underwhelmed by the result.
"It was a bit odd, it never really got going as we would have liked. It's quite interesting that you can win by 23 and not be happy," she said afterwards.
Aitken went into the game wanting to test her players against the Jamaicans unpredictable, aerial game and hoping to try out a few different combinations and game plans.
Exactly what she can take from the match is a little unclear: once the Silver Ferns recovered from an ordinary opening quarter -- they went into the first break 11-10 up -- they rarely looked under threat.
Aitken was able to test-drive a few combinations, opening with attacking midcourter Laura Langman at wing
defence and leaving Liana Barrett-Chase and Temepara George to fire up the midcourt. Leana de Bruin got a run at goal keep, as did Katrina Grant, while rookie goal attack Grace Rasmussen got her first real taste of international netball in the final quarter.
Only ring-in shooter Anna Thompson -- in for the injured Daneka Wipiiti -- and defender Anna Scarlett missed out on court time, but just how much Aitken can take from the display is hard to fathom.
The Sunshine Girls struggled earlier this month in three tests against Australia, losing by between 21 and 31 goals each time. They are without pivotal goal attack Simone Forbes, and also badly missed gritty defender Althea Byfield.
Despite that, Aitken said her team looked a little flat early on, and accorded the Jamaicans too much respect.
"There's a real adjustment to the Jamaican style, they do wrap themselves around you somewhat, and it's a challenge to get free.
"I think we ended up paying them a little too much respect, and when we let that ball go into space, we were much better."
A "truckload" of turnovers, especially in the first quarter, didn't help New Zealand's cause either, as they struggled to maintain accuracy while upping the pace of their game. The links on attack looked decidedly rusty, and players struggled to adjust when things weren't working.
Aitken said Barrett-Chase and goal attack Maria Tutaia in particular lost a little momentum in the first spell, but worked hard to regain lost ground in the second 15 minutes.
"When things didn't quite connect early on, they lost a bit of confidence and got a little bit hesitant, and that was just what the Jamaicans wanter -- they did a really good job of unsettling us," Aitken said.
"There's that nervousness of not wanting to make mistakes, and that makes you make more mistakes."
The expectation of equalling or bettering Australia's winning margins against the Sunshine Girls may also have been at the back of the New Zealanders' minds, although Aitken insisted that was not a primary focus: "We always want to be better than everyone, quite frankly."
The Silver Ferns will get a second chance to put together a more consistent game when they meet Jamaica in the second and final test in Napier on Saturday, and Aitken is confident there will be big improvements across the board from yesterday's somewhat scratchy effort.
"It never quite got to where we would have liked it to be, but as our starting point, there's a lot for us to go away and work on."
