Full-back Conor Townsend believes a lot of positives can be taken from last season, despite the Blues’ relegation from the Premier League.
Townsend signed from West Bromwich Albion for £750,000 last summer knowing that he was primarily being brought in as back-up to Leif Davis.
The 32-year-old went on to make three starts and three sub appearances in the Premier League as well as three starts in cup competitions, but despite his infrequent involvement impressed fans and the Town management.
"On a personal level, I would obviously have liked to have played a little bit more, but I was signed to come in and help the squad, whether that be on a matchday or round the training ground,” he told TWTD.
"I thought Leif [Davis] was brilliant, in the first half of the season. I didn’t get a look in and that’s a credit to him and how he was performing. I was trying to help him in any way I could.
"Obviously as a team we were disappointed we got relegated, the goal was always to try and stay up, but we’ve not managed to do that.
"But we’re coming back this summer with a lot of hunger to try and put that wrong right and get back to the Premier League.”
Despite relegation, the mood in the camp always appeared positive with no signs of the behind-the-scenes discord often found in squads in difficult seasons.
"The culture within the club that the manager and the staff have built with the players was evident from the moment I joined, to be honest,” Townsend reflected.
"Even when things weren’t going our way on the pitch, we always stuck together, we always realised that everyone was working hard for each other and we were all trying our best to be the best we can.
"If standards were dropping in training, we’d drag each other through it and that’s why the club has had so much success over the past three or four years.
"The Premier League’s an incredibly hard league and we gave it our all. We came up short but if we can keep that same camaraderie as a team and that togetherness, dragging each other through when things get tough, then I’m sure we’ll be challenging up the right end of the table.”
Townsend, who along with his teammates will be back at Playford Road for the start of pre-season training on Thursday, was one of the few members of the squad to have played in the Premier League prior to last season having been with West Brom during their 2020/21 campaign in the top flight.
Asked whether he felt the division has become even tougher in the time since then, he added: "There’s a big thing at the minute about the promoted teams coming straight back down, it’s happened two seasons in a row. That financial gap between the leagues it is evident and it’s hard, it’s difficult coming up.
"I think last season there were a lot of times we were unlucky, there were plenty of games especially in the first half of the season where we deserved more from it and we didn’t quite manage to get it.
"There were a lot of positives still to take from what happened and we’ve got to try and use that this season.”