Ben Pearson joined his team-mates as the Lilywhites returned to training to begin their preparations for the 2019/20 season at Springfields on Thursday.
The North End midfielder was back out on the grass, but admitted he didn’t welcome the glorious sunshine that greeted him and the rest of the squad!
“I was looking at the weather last night and hoping that it was going to be normal,” he told iFollow PNE at the training ground. “You don’t want rain, but you also don’t want it to be like this!
“It is a good environment to be when it is sunny, but just not when you are running.”
‘Pearo’ returned from his summer break ready to join the battle for a starting position in Alex Neil’s first team selection in five weeks’ time and said that he had used the summer to recuperate from the exertions of a long hard season.
“It is nice to be back; to see all the lads again, see what they have been up to and it is now about getting back into a routine, getting going again and getting everyone’s fitness us,” he continued. “It is not nice, but you jut have to push through and it is good to be back.
“Pre-season has changed over the past five years, the balls can sometime be out from day one and it will be nice to get back used to kicking a ball around again. Some ads have done a bit, but it is nice to get the balls out and crack on.
“When you do ten months of a season and then have six or seven weeks off, then you have to use them wisely to recover and just concentrate on yourself and not bother about football.
“That’s what I do over the summer. I obviously do a bit to make sure I am injury free coming into pre-season and that I am not lagging behind, but I am not one to go that extra mile to be at the front, it is about building my way up to be ready for the first day of the season.
“Things have changed so that you need to have done a bit over the summer, compared to ten or 15 years ago, but as long as everyone is ready for that Millwall game, then that is all that matters.”
And with players back from injury and a new signing already in the building, the 24-year-old is well aware of the battle everyone faces to make the starting XI by the time the Millwall game comes around.
“I think it is an exciting time for the club. We have everyone back fit; the likes of Billy [Bodin] and Josh [Harrop] are fit – who missed the majority of last season – and Patrick has come in and I am sure there will be a few more, so it is an exciting time.
“Everyone is going to be trying their best over the next few weeks to try and make an impression to get in that team and I will be no different. I will be trying my best to get fit and be in the team for the first game,” he added.
Watch the full interview with Ben on iFollow PNE now.