Newport County AFC defender Ashley Baker says the Exiles are excited to return to Sky Bet League Two action next month.
Baker, who joined County from Sheffield Wednesday in the January transfer window, returned to pre-season training this week for the first time in more than 20 weeks.
The 23-year-old made four league appearances for the Exiles last term before the season was curtailed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But now he is eager to hit the ground running when the 2020/21 Sky Bet League Two campaign gets underway in September.
“I played a couple of games and then picked up an injury,” said Baker.
“It was tough but I didn’t miss too many matches because of the pandemic. Now I’m looking to get up and running this season now.
“It’s been a tough first week back which it usually is in pre-season. I think we’re enjoying it more than we should be but that’s because we’ve had a long time off.
“We’ve all been waiting to get back and now the boys are happy that we’re together again. Everyone’s happy and smiling.”
Michael Flynn’s men have been assigned individual programmes to follow in recent months to ensure they are ready for next season’s campaign, which is set to get underway on the weekend of Saturday 12th September.
And Baker says all eyes are now on the fixtures list which will be released in due course.
“We’re excited to see who we’re going to be playing in the first game of the season,” added the defender.
“The boys can’t wait to get the season underway and we’re all looking forward to it.
“I just want to get as many games under my belt as possible next season. I want to play to help the team, pick up results along the way and finish as high as we can in the league table.
“We’re going to miss the fans but hopefully we can get them back into Rodney Parade as soon as possible.”