It is fair to say that Kyle McAllister was looking forward to this pre-season more than most of his Derby County team-mates.
The work will be brutal. Many miles will be covered in running over the next five weeks as the Rams’ age groups gear up for the 2017/18 season.
For McAllister, though, he is approaching the workload with the mindset of making up for lost time.
The wideman arrived from Scottish Championship side St Mirren back in January, but a persistent groin problem meant he was not able to showcase his ability and make an impact out on the pitch over the remainder of the 2016/17 campaign.
With that, McAllister says he feels like he has done ‘nothing’ and that’s something he is wanting to put straight – starting during this pre-season.
The 18-year-old told RamsTV: “I came here, having moved away from my home in Scotland, and I just wanted to get straight into it.
“That wasn’t the case, though, and I struggled a wee bit. Being back in training now makes everything so much easier.
“I’m back around the team and making friends, but when I was injured I spent a lot of time on my own and was away from family.
“I feel like I have done nothing here. When you join a new club, you expect to just go in and get started straight away.
“It’s been a six month wait for me and I need to make up for that. I need to do my best and do something for the team.”
McAllister has been training with Derby’s Under-23s squad since they returned to pre-season training on Monday.
After being, somewhat, eased back into things on their first day back, Darren Wassall put his players through a gruelling running session, which incorporated three 1,500m runs, on Tuesday.
McAllister spoke to RamsTV immediately after that session and whilst he was naturally feeling the aftereffects, the wideman says the workload is exactly what is needed to ensure he gets himself into the physical state he wants to be.
He added: “I haven’t really done a pre-season before, so this has been enlightening.
“We have done a bit of running over the off-season, but compared to what we did on the second day, it was nothing!
“It was hard and I’m not used to that. We need to get fit for the season, so it’s the best thing for us.
“I came here injured and all I was thinking was that I needed to get back as soon as I could. I tried my hardest, but not being able to play made me look forward to this pre-season even more.
“I am looking forward to feeling fit again. This is the first time that I have had no aches and no pains. That’s an amazing feeling and I don’t mind having to do those runs to get to where I want to be.”
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