The Saddlers’ first-team squad return to pre-season training today – and right-back Nicky Devlin can’t wait to get back down to business.
“I’ve had a good break but I think if you asked most of the boys, we’re itching to get back into it now,” said the 24-year-old, who made 36 appearances last season.
“I went away a couple of times with my girlfriend and wee boy – and me and my girlfriend got engaged.
“It’s been a good summer – we bought a new house as well. It’s been busy and I’ve enjoyed the down period.
“Towards the end of last season it got quite frantic, so it was important all the boys got a good rest.
“But once you come back from your holidays, you just want to get started.
“The club put something together just to keep the boys ticking over during the summer.
"It’s probably more to prevent injuries and make sure we don’t pick up little niggles when we come back.
“I’m sure it’ll be quite hard running to begin with.
“I don’t think any player probably enjoys what you have to go through during pre-season.
“But a good pre-season definitely sets you up for the rest of the season, especially with the amount of games you play around Christmas time.
“You do see the rewards if you get a full pre-season and get your fitness levels back up.”