New Yeovil Town captain Luke McCormick has said he is feeling stronger than he did when he picked up the injury which ruled him out of the final two months of last season.
The midfielder required surgery on a groin injury which he sustained in March and was a notable absentee as the Glovers fought against getting sucked in to a relegation in the National League Premier Division last season.
Having returned with three goals in pre-season when he wore the captain’s armband in every match he started, the 27-year-old was confirmed as the skipper for the upcoming season earlier this week.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah on Thursday, McCormick said: “I feel fit, I feel like my body is in a really good place, probably better than it was before the injury. I have had a lot of time in the gym and a lot of time rehabbing, so I feel 100% if not 101%. I feel strong and the boys are fit and ready to go, it has been a really positive pre-season.
“I had an issue for seven or eight weeks which turned out to be a hernia which I was playing with, so I was very restricted. When your team is struggling and we were trying to pick up points, I was always going to want to play whether that was at 50% or 100%. I didn’t think I was going to (get the injury) I did, but that is football. I am looking forward to starting the season strongly and hopefully continuing that throughout the season.”
He admitted that he was proud to have been named captain with defender Joe Gubbins appointed as vice-captain, but said that he believes there are plenty of other strong characters in the squad this season.
He said: “It is a very proud moment in any players’ career, we have a lot of leaders and a really good group of players, so it is not just me, I just wear the armband which is a huge honour. It is something that I have wanted to do and I am getting to an age now where I am one of the older boys in the group with a lot of experience, so if I can help, I want to help. I think I always lead by example, I am not always a big shouter and screamer unless I get a little bit emotional. I want to lead on and off the pitch and I just want to help wherever I can.
“We have kept a strong core of players that were here last year and pre-season has been positive with getting to know all the new boys and that can only get better. I think it is a really exciting time to be a Yeovil Town player, but also to be a Yeovil Town fan. When there is a big overhaul like this there is always a lot of excitement and, from what I have seen, the fans can be excited and I certainly am. There has not been one stand-out player, but when the real stuff starts people will see there are a lot of good players in this squad.”
The season gets started with a long trip to Scunthorpe United on Saturday. The Iron finished fifth in the division last season and made it to the play-off semi-finals when they lost to eventual winners, Rochdale, and McCormick said this is something Yeovil are aspiring to achieve this season.
He said: “That is where we want to be, we want to be in and around those play-off places come the end of the season. We can take a lot of confidence from the pre-season we have had, obviously respect Scunthorpe for what they have done, but we are going there to impose ourselves and get three points.”