Niall Annett believes this year’s return to a normal pre-season schedule will help the players ahead of the new campaign.
Players across England’s top-flight had an extended pre-season last time round due to the Rugby World Cup delaying the start of the 2015/16 Aviva Premiership campaign.
But with the Premiership start date returning to early September, Annett says the squad are more focused to ensure they are ready for competitive action.
He said: “We’re back here to work hard as a group and the fact that the season starts a lot sooner means we’re all motivated to make the most of pre-season.
“Last season’s extended pre-season gave us a lot of time to get to know each other and do a lot of work. But it was tough with the season starting so late.
“We don’t have as many new players coming in so we only have a handful who need to get up to speed with how we do things and become part of our culture.”
New signings Will Spencer and Matt Williams have already returned to the Club, while Ben Te’o, Jackson Willison and Marco Mama will all be arriving in the coming weeks.
And Annett says he feels part of a stronger squad.
He continued: “The guys who have come in possess real quality and that will encourage us to take huge strides forward in what we’re trying to do on and off the pitch.
“Everyone else is a year further into the journey as a team and we are all excited about the season ahead.”
Annett enjoyed some down-time over the summer with a trip home to visit his family in Belfast.
And he admits he is refreshed and ready to go again.
He added: “I headed back to Belfast for ten days to visit my family and was also best man at a friend’s wedding so the batteries are now recharged.”