Jonathan Douglas has revealed that Town boss Mick McCarthy is likely to rotate his squad more in the new season than at any other point during his time in charge.
McCarthy, who will celebrate three years at the helm on November 1st, has already gone on record that in his view the current squad is his strongest yet and that will enable him to juggle his assets to get the best out of the players at his disposal.
New signing Douglas, whose arrival on a free transfer after being released by Brentford was confirmed earlier this week, is a welcome addition ahead of today’s opening game of the season at his former club.
Monaghan-born Douglas, 33, clocked up 187 appearances in all competitions during his four years at Griffin Park and is adamant his age will not prevent him maintaining that impressive ratio in his time with Town.
He said: "If called upon I can do it again and I’m sure the manager is going to be rotating most weeks. You need to rotate at this level because it’s a tough division but when called upon I will give everything.
"I don’t think they rotated much last year. I think they were a bit like Brentford, with a small squad, so to be able to do that this year can only help us.
"If you don’t have the quality and depth there’s no point in rotating but I think the manager has it this year — there’s a lot of quality in the squad and I’m just happy to be a part of it.”
Douglas said he was given a warm reception from his new colleagues, despite not knowing most of them. "The lads here have made me feel very welcome so it’s so far, so good,” he added. "There’s a good squad here and I’m really looking forward to the season ahead.
"I didn’t know any of them personally, just from playing against them. Over the years you tend to get to know a few people and obviously I’ve been with Murph a couple of times with the Irish team a few years back. Even if I don’t know them on a personal level, though, to be fair they have been very good to me.”