Ryan Lowe said his players “equipped themselves fantastically” in the opening day of pre-season training.
Most of the playing squad returned to Euxton on Monday morning for the first session in build-up to the start of the new campaign.
Those still to return are Alan Browne and Ali McCann, who have both been given an extra week to recover after spending time playing for their respective countries over the summer.
Speaking to iFollow PNE, Ryan said: “It’s always nice when you see all the boys back in for the first day of pre-season.
“They’ve come back in good condition so that’s really pleasing.
“Today wasn’t too tough, but it was tough enough. We had the balls out as well which takes their mind off one or two running sessions that they have to do.
“But they’ve all equipped themselves fantastically. They’re all in good condition, so I’m really pleased with how the day’s gone.”
The manager also confirmed that North End will have a trialist training with them for the next few weeks.
Ben Woodburn, a 22-year-old graduate of the Liverpool Academy, took part in the session on Monday morning, and could be joined by further trialists in the near future.
Ryan added: “I tried to do a deal to get him down to Plymouth when I first came down there, but he’d obviously been playing at a higher level.
“Obviously his contract’s now ended at Liverpool. He was up with Hearts in Scotland last season and he’s a fantastic talent.
“We’re hoping we can get a tune out of him. He's going to be with us for a few weeks and it’s over to Ben now to showcase what he’s really about, because with the likes of Ben who have probably had a little bit of a dip in form of late, we’re coaches and managers that want to try and bring the best back out of young lads like him.
"He’ll be with us for a little while. He’s a fantastic kid, he’s trained fantastically well today, a good footballer, but there’s probably one or two more that’ll probably come in with us over the pre-season training because it’s good that we can have a look at them and they can get a look at us.”
While trialists are something Ryan is very much open to, work also remains ongoing in the transfer market.
So far, North End have welcomed goalkeepers Freddie Woodman and Dai Cornell to the club, while Josh Earl and Tom Bayliss both departed on Monday.
On transfer business, the gaffer said: “We’re on the phone all the time about players. We're down the line in discussions for different positions, positions we really need and what we want.
“In terms of the trialists, first and foremost you’ve got to come in with a good attitude and show you’re really eager to earn a contract at the football club and that’s really what we want.
“We won’t just sign anyone and everyone, we need to make sure that the positions we’re looking for are the ones that we’re bringing in.
“We could do with another couple of wing backs, either side, potentially another striker or two, so we’re in the window.
“We’ve just got to make sure we don’t rush on anything and make sure that players coming in are on par or better than what we’ve got for challenging each other, and that’s what the trialists need to do when they’re coming in.
“They need to showcase their ability and their attitude and try and earn contracts.”
You can watch the manager's full interview above on iFollow PNE.