We caught up with striker Ryan Edmondson in St Andrews on Tuesday shortly after the Livingston friendly and follow up training session as the lads continue to work hard during pre-season.
"It’s great to get the fitness back even though when you’re doing it you feel awful for it!" he admitted. "The gaffer wants us to work hard and I think it was a major thing for us last year that we were fitter than everyone.
"I don’t think there are many teams who would play a game then do a training session straight afterwards, then do an hour in the gym.
"It’s like three sessions in one, but I think we all love it. It’s good for the lads to get more minutes under their belts and it was a tough game against Livingston as well. It was a good game and we’ve got the work out of it as well so I think we’re all happy."
On the game itself, he commented: “For a pre-season friendly it was right up there in terms of having a competitive edge.
"They’re in the SPL and they’re a good side, and I think they came here and showed it. I think they’re already playing competitive games in the cup as well so they’ve been back longer than we have and they’re ahead of us.
"It was a good test for the lads and it was a proper game which meant we got the work out of it that we wanted to."
And his close-range finish was a lesson in persistence as the Blues kept knocking on the door.
"It felt like the goal was coming," he said. "I think when we made all the changes after an hour it made an impact.
"The gaffer always talks about subs needing to make a difference in every meeting we have, so it was good for us to come on and grab the equaliser.
"Gibbo’s cross or scuffed shot, I’m not sure what it was, made it an easy finish for me! He flashed it across goal and I took up a bit of a Denno position from last year, and I was just in the right place at the right time.
"It came to me and it was an easy finish but it’s good to get off the mark in pre-season. For the offside one just before I scored I didn’t expect Jack [Armer] to put such a good ball in first time.
"I thought he was going to take a touch which would have meant I was onside. He whipped it in first time which meant I was just offside which is unfortunate but it happens. It’s about being in the right place at the right time."
Speaking about getting off the mark, he said: "I think it’s a really good feeling to get goals, whether it’s pre-season or not.
"In the games before this I’ve had a few opportunities to score but I seem to have been getting assists instead for some reason.
"To get on the scoresheet and get up and running is great going into the season. It gets you confident going into the first game so hopefully I can get a couple more before that Fleetwood game."
With the lads spending five days up in St Andrews, he told us: "It is hard work but we’ve got such a good group that when we come away for a week it’s a such a good laugh.
"They’re all annoying as hell but we wouldn’t ask for anything else, we make the most of what we’ve got and the gaffer doesn’t care about the sun or anything, we’re here to work and it’s a really good environment to be in."
As we got towards the point where he really did need to get away for some recovery, we took the opportunity to reflect and to look forward.
“I still don’t think what we did last year has sunk in," he explained. "I don’t think it feels like we’ve been promoted yet.
"We had a couple of weeks off for celebrations but as soon as we came back in we didn’t have any time to waste thinking about that.
"The gaffer told us on the first day back that we were here to work and go again. We’re not here to make up the numbers and just try and survive, we want to take it by storm and see what we can do with it.
"I think we surprised everyone last year and in all the meetings we’ve had so far we’ve talked about making sure we keep surprising people. No one expects a lot from us, but this group has got a lot more in it than people think.
"We're a really together group and that is a massive part of it. We’re like a bunch of brothers. We’ve only been up here for one night so far but it feels a bit like a school residential trip. It’s just a great group, even the older lads get involved so we’re all really close and I think we’ll do well."
"I feel good fitness wise but it’s definitely not easy," he added. "I think even if any of us had come back in bad shape the gaffer would have had us whipped into shape in no time with the work he’s got us doing. As a pro you’ve got to come back ready to go.
"You have a couple of weeks off but in the two or three weeks before pre-season you start doing bits to make sure you come back in good shape. You’ve got to be professional about it and make sure you do the work.
"Everyone is looking fit and we’re all getting through the minutes in the games. We’re not really picking up injuries so I think the group is in really good stead.
"I’ve been in League One a couple of times now but I don’t think I’ve played in it when there’s been as many big teams as there is now. It’s not an easy league to be in because you’d probably expect half the teams in there to be in the Championship.
"I think for us to come in and be able to compete with the teams in this league says a lot not only about us as a group but about us as a club.
"There’s a lot of good people behind the scenes and we’re one big together club, we’ve achieved something great, and I don’t think there’s any reason we can’t do something good again."