Full-back Cameron Norman is looking forward to a competitive pre-season campaign under new manager Darrell Clarke.
With it likely to be a busy summer for the Saddlers, the 23-year-old expects everybody to be fighting for their place in the first starting XI of the season come the first weekend in August.
And with a clean slate for existing and new members of Clarke’s squad, Norman is hoping to enjoy a fruitful season.
“I want to hit the ground running this season,” said Norman, who made nine first-team appearances last term.
“I want to feature in as many games as I can this year, if not all of them. I will be working hard to make sure I am one of the first names on the teamsheet.
“With a new manager in place, it is a chance for everybody to start with a clean slate and everybody will be looking to impress during pre-season.
“Everybody will be well up for it and hopefully that will mean a competitive pre-season with the boys and hopefully a positive one going into the start of the season.”
The defender was released by hometown club Norwich City in 2016 and took the decision to make the step down into the Southern League with King's Lynn.
After an impressive season with the non-league side, Norman made the move to Oxford United and then six months later was snapped up by the Saddlers.
And moving around the country has been hard for the former Canaries FA Youth Cup winner but he insists that making the step down has made him appreciate life at a higher level.
“The hard work never stops and that has come from my little bit of a background from non-league,” Norman continued.
“I will never stop working hard and I will keep myself ticking over now in the summer and have a little bit of a rest, which is important as well, but I will keep working hard.
“It was a hard decision to move from Norwich down into non-league football.
“Things change at clubs when they’re at different ends of the spectrum but that really strips it back and you take a lot of things for granted .
“It makes you take a look at yourself in the mirror and it makes you see if you really want to get there.
“It was a lot of hard work and when the day finally came that I got the call about the move to Oxford, a lot of work had gone into getting that move. It was a big day for me.
“To move two or three times in the space of a year, I am not going to lie, it has been a little bit draining but it is part and parcel of the game now.
“I am happy to be here. It was tough in terms of the games but that is something that I can work on now and just settle a lot more over the summer and be ready for the first game of pre-season.”