Walsall manager Jon Whitney is looking forward to his side's pre-season campaign, with friendly fixtures beginning on Saturday, July 15.
The Saddlers visit Solihull Moors that weekend before hosting Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion at the Banks's Stadium, as well as visiting National League sides Chester and Lincoln City, plus Stafford Rangers and Rushall Olympic.
And Whitney, who has been running occasional summer training sessions for the club's under-23s - which are also open to the more senior players - is excited about the friendly line-up this summer.
“We’re really looking forward to our pre-season schedule," said the Saddlers boss.
“We’ll get some stringent challenges in these games for both the senior and the younger lads.
“It’s always nice to test yourself against Premier League and Championship sides, and hopefully we can get big crowds for the games against West Brom and Aston Villa in July.
“These friendlies should set us up for the new season in August - but there’s plenty of hard work to be done before then.
“The lads will be coming back in for pre-season training in late June, and hopefully the training sessions we’ve been doing over the summer will help some of the young players hit the ground running.
“Then we’ll be well set for our first match away at Solihull on July 15, a place we enjoy going to.”