THE TRAINING ground was full of smiles despite the players being pushed to the limits of their fitness.

It mirrored the sense of renewed optimism in the Petersfield Town camp as the club held its first pre-season training session on Monday evening.

The Rams are setting out with the aim of having a successful season in the Southern League and they certainly started in the right manner for the campaign ahead.

Around 30 players were in attendance at the first of three training sessions this week, as the players look to improve their fitness quickly before next month’s series of pre-season friendlies.

Manager Ian Saunders was pleased with how the first session went and is just glad to be working on the training ground again.

“We’ve had a good break but I’m absolutely buzzing to be back and working on the new season,” he said.

“It’s great to see the players back in working hard and everyone has a smile on their face, which is really good and positive to see.

“We are ready to push on again this season but it is vital to put the hard work in now to prepare us for the campaign.

“There is a really positive vibe among the coaching staff and you can see that spreading among the players now they are back in.

“It was great to see most of last season’s squad back at the club as well as a few former Rams players coming back to the club.

“There were one or two new faces around as well.”