John Goddard is itching to get back to work as he looks forward to being part of a new era at The County Ground.
Town are set to return to pre-season training this week as new gaffer Dave Flitcroft looks to lay the foundations for a promotion push in 2017/18.
Having met with the new gaffer and assistant boss Ben Futcher last week, Goddard feels excited about what lies ahead and the attacker sees it as a fresh start for everyone.
“My summer break was good. It goes quickly but as a player you soon miss your football so it is not long before you are sitting there on a Saturday afternoon twitching and ready to get back out there,” he told swindontownfc.co.uk exclusively.
“A player needs time to recharge, get rid of any knocks and niggles and use the time off wisely to work in the gym and improve in certain areas.
“But, as I said, it isn’t long before you want to get back out there playing and training again.
“I’m very excited to come back and it is the start of a new era at the club.
“The benefit we’ll have is that there won’t be a hangover from last season. Obviously it was extremely disappointing but with so many fresh faces on and off the pitch, it is a good chance to start afresh with a fresh mentality and the right attitude.
“I was really impressed with the new gaffer and his assistant and what they had to say when I met them the other day.
“They both seem to have a winning mentality which is arguably the most important thing and it is really exciting for us players to go out there and try and impress him.
“We all want to be a part of his plans and we all want to move the club forward, so pre-season is going to be important and if we can get a lot of good work done then hopefully that sets us up for a successful season.”
Having been part of the Town side that suffered relegation last term, Goddard is keen to right some wrongs in 2017/18.
“We want to try and redeem ourselves and bounce back in the right way,” he continued.
“It is important that we don’t have a hangover and we see this season as a fresh challenge.
“Sometimes so many changes can be a good thing and it can galvanise everyone and hopefully we can all kick on in the right direction.”
Now entering into his second season with the club, Goddard wants to kick-on this term and get better as an individual, whilst dong his part for the collective cause.
“Personally I want to build on last season and improve and do better,” he added.
“I’m certainly capable of doing better than what I did last season, so that is something I’ll be looking at individually but the most important thing is the squad and the team.
“We all need to be pulling in the right direction. It is very much a collective effort and it will be throughout the entire season - the manager has made that clear.
“That’s what success is really built on.”
