The Gers kicked-off the tournament with a 3-0 defeat to Rapid Vienna, but went on to defeat Frankfurt 1-0, before an impressive 4-0 victory against RB Leipzig.
Speaking to RangersTV at the end of Day One of the competition, Lovenkrands said: “We lost the first game and it was a surprise for the boys I think, only three players had done this before so for them to try and figure out the game and how you play it and the physicality and understanding of the game took a bit of time.
“A lot of them struggled in the first game and it showed and we lost the game but since then they have been phenomenal.
“Especially in the last game, they were absolutely outstanding and didn’t look in any bother at all.
“We go into games tomorrow now we just need to get them back and rested and we need to go again.”
Lovenkrands says the players have now set the tone with their improving performances as they head into day two of the tournament.
First up on Sunday morning is Porto, before a game against Stuttgart.
The Gers Academy Coach continued: “When you go and lose the first game like we did and we didn’t look strong at all.
“We looked a bit like a deer in headlights we were a bit lost and we have a lot of young boys coming through and how they react to it. You can either go and sink or you can rise with it and they have risen to the challenge of it and they were fantastic.
“They have stuck together and worked with each other it has been magnificent so far but that needs to keep going now.
“So tomorrow we have got big tests, yes we have Porto who have not won a game at all but that doesn’t mean anything because they are big strong physical guys so it is going to be a really tough challenge for us.
“If we go and play anywhere close to what we did in the last game then we will have a good chance to keep pushing through and hopefully get further than we did last year.”