Mark Robins hopes that his side can continue their excellent recruitment so far as his squad met for the first time this week.
The Iron boss was delighted to see Gary McSheffrey sign a new deal with the club to extend his stay at Glanford Park.The former Coventry man was impressive for United last season and Robins was very pleased to have him as part of his plans for the new season.
He said: “He did really well last season, so it's great to have him on board again. We sat down and spoke at the end of last season, and thankfully he's signed another deal to keep him here for another twelve months.”
The attacker will be part of the squad that travels out to Marbella for the Iron’s pre-season training camp, which Robins hopes his side can use as a springboard for the new season.
He said: “It's important to use the tour to enhance to team spirit and also to help them gel. It's not a holiday though, it's a working trip and we want to get the very best out of them.
“The Gainsborough game is the day before we go on tour so we just want the players to get some minutes before we head out.
“There are seven or eight games in total before we start and I think we've got a decent balance.”
Robins admitted it is still early for all of his squad to settle in just yet, but felt that being back in training would give him a good opportunity to assess everything, including potential signings.
He said: “It is early days and we've got one or two lads that have come in on a trial basis at the minute.
“There are a few players that we want to have a look at. The players come in fit anyway and we've got a new GPS system that allows us to track how fast they're running and what their training levels are which will hopefully help us avoid lots of injury troubles.”
The Iron boss has welcomed seven new faces to Glanford Park already and hopes to add more in the coming weeks, although he will be without former Chief Scout Lee Turnbull, who has joined Sheffield United.
Robins told The Iron PlayerHD he was looking to move forward quickly though, saying: “It's been a tough time losing Lee Turnbull to Sheffield United.
“The timing wasn't great for us as we're in the middle of a recruitment drive at the minute and came out of the blue really.
“There is still a lot of work that needs to be done and I've been having conversations about players who may be available.
“I wouldn't put a number on the amount that I want to add, but I'm hoping to assemble a team that can play how I want and give it a real good go next season.”
See much more from Mark Robins, plus footage from the players' return to pre-season training, on The Iron Player HD.