Town boss Mick McCarthy and his squad were back at Playford Road for the start of pre-season training this morning.
McCarthy said he felt the summer has passed very quickly: "It’s flown by, it seems like I was never away now, talking to you chaps.
"I had a great holiday, thank you, I loved it, but you’ve got to get back to work and I’m looking forward to it.
"I’m ready for it, I’m ready for starting. It’s the first day back at school, the lads are in the gym, Lids [fitness coach Andy Liddell] is shouting at them. It’s back in the old routine. I’m looking forward to it.”
He says everyone was back in good condition: "That’s just usual for them now, every year for the last 10 years I would say players have come back almost in the shape that they left. Again this year they can be proud of themselves.”
Among those training was Luke Hyam, who missed the whole of last season with a knee problem and then an ankle injury.
"He’s been having rehab all through the summer, he’s been doing his work and it’s good to see him out today,” McCarthy added.
"Fingers crossed because he came back from the nerve damage that he had and he looked really good.
"Then he blocked a ball on the line and he did his ankle ligaments and I felt so bad for him.
"He’s had such a bad time. I go back to his tackle against Brentford when he got sent off and [Alan Judge] broke his leg, it was awful that and that 12 months has been a really tough time for him.
"Fingers crossed he’s got a good start to this season and we’ll can get a full season out of him.”
He says the start of a new season is a clean sheet for everyone: "It has to be. I don’t come back on the first day of pre-season with preconceived ideas.
"But, of course, there are some you can hang your hat on and there are some that you’re not so sure about and there are some where you might have to change your mind that probably haven’t been playing.
"And I am prepared to change my mind, so it’s up to the players to come back, if I’ve got any doubt over anybody, they have to change my mind. Whatever I had my doubts about, they have to do it differently, they have to do more, run more, play better, whatever it might take. They’ve got to change my mind.”
McCarthy is pleased with the early season programme of fixtures, which was announced last week: "We’ve got a home game against Birmingham, who I’m sure will be investing.
"I think that’s a good game for us, perhaps if they do invest it’ll be interesting to see. Harry Redknapp’s there and we’ll see what players they get, there’s a lot of talk about what they’re going to do. And then, of course, Barnsley and Millwall, two of my old clubs.”
Missing from today’s first session were Tommy Smith and Monty Patterson, who have been away with New Zealand, Andre Dozzell, who is set to travel to the European Championships with England, and David McGoldrick, who has been with Ireland.
McCarthy confirmed that the knee injury which ruled McGoldrick out of Ireland’s World Cup qualifier with Austria is nothing serious.
The Town boss says they will join up with the squad after the week-long training camp at Carton House in Co Kildare, which ends with the Saturday 8th July friendly at Drogheda.
"They’ll be back after we’ve been to Ireland,” he explained. "Tommy Smith, I’m looking at him playing [for New Zealand against Portugal] two days ago thinking that he started pre-season training this time last year.
"I know he had an injury, but nevertheless he’s still been in, he’s still been doing his rehab, he’s still had to be at the training ground, David McGoldrick the same, he was always going to have a break. They’ll all be back after the Ireland game.”
McCarthy has said before that in his playing days he ran out of steam in September following a summer tournament with Ireland and will try to do everything to avoid the same happening to Smith.
"It could catch up with him,” he admitted. "He didn’t play that many games last year, so I think he’ll be relishing the prospect of coming back and trying to get in the team and playing lots of games. It’s not like he played 50 games through the season but he’s still been going.
"David McGoldrick, he had a few injuries but played more games. But it is tough, it’s hard work. We’re all playing football, managing, doing it for a living, it’s fantastic, everybody wants to do it, but you do get knackered.
"And of course David McGoldrick will probably get called up for internationals, Tommy Smith might get called up for internationals, so maybe they don’t get a rest, they just keep going. It’ll be hard for them.”
Also missing was Kevin Bru, who is understood to be among the players told he can move on if he can find a club, however, McCarthy says the Mauritius international is expected back soon: "Kevin’s away in France, but he’ll be joining up.”