United defender Christian Ribeiro feels his side are already ahead of other teams in terms of pre-season as they head into their fourth warm-up fixture away at Halifax Town on Saturday.
With a small squad at the moment, many of the Iron's players have found themselves completing 90 minutes much earlier than what is usually expected but insists that this has seen the squad get their sharpness back much quicker than originally expected.
He told The Iron Player: “It’s been really good; we’ve been working extremely hard.
"It’s not just been all the fitness though; everyone’s been getting to know each other, as have the staff, so it’s been a learning curve for everyone in such a short time.
“All pre-seasons are pretty much similar. The first few weeks are always the hardest because you have to build up a good enough fitness before you can even start using the football.
"However we’ve had quite a bit of football already so I think it’s benefited us having three reasonably competitive games so quick.
"Everyone’s already looking sharp in training and to be so at such an early stage in pre-season is encouraging for everyone.
“I’ve been quite surprised in myself because I’ve already played two lots of 90 minutes which I really didn’t expect.
"Even against Grimsby the other night I felt a little tired towards the end but I kept making them runs down the wing so I’ve been impressed with what I’ve achieved so far.
“The first game we played in pre-season, I didn’t expect to play the full 90 but we were that short on numbers that I had to play the whole match.
"Unfortunately we only had ten players to bring on at half-time so I was the one that was chosen to stay on for the whole 90.”
Pre-season for the Iron has already seen the squad complete a week-long stay in Ireland, something Ribeiro feels has been an affective tool both on and off the pitch.
“Ireland was very tough," he added.
"We had three sessions a day and then we had games in the evening so we were working all the way through the trip.
"One day we were told that we had to climb a huge mountain so that was a bit of a shock to say the least.
"It was the morning after a game as well so it made it even more difficult.
"Personally I had played 90 minutes in that game so I was feeling a bit heavy on the legs.
"It’s all good though in bringing everyone together so the trip paid off.”
Tuesday evening saw the Iron fall to their first pre-season defeat at the hands of local rivals Grimsby Town in the Lincolnshire County Cup.
Despite the 2-0 reverse though, the 22-year-old believes the signs were there that show this season may well be a successful one for the Iron.
“I thought that we all played good," he added.
"Obviously there are still a lot of things to work on but I think the basic things we were trying where coming off.
"We passed the ball well and our moves showed a lot of sharpness. The fact we didn’t score was a little disappointing but the more we play and the more we all get used to each other then those rewards will come.
“We’ve managed to combine a lot of tactics into the work we’ve done already, which is pleasing because we have known what to do from an early stage.
"We showed the other night the formation we would try to implement for the rest of the season so that was good because the earlier we get used to it the earlier we will make it a success.
“I think, with the players we have here, that we can be extremely confident of having a good season and I think the manager knows that.
"Obviously with the odds and everything people probably don’t fancy us as favourites to get promotion but we're fine with that.
"Everyone here is not going over the top though. We’ve got it in our minds that we will go along quietly with that label of ‘underdogs’ and see where that leads us.”
This Saturday sees the Iron face another non-league test against FC Halifax Town at the Shay, a fixture last season that saw United lose 1-0.
And Ribeiro insists that pre-season matches against non-league sides usually end up being the hardest, believing that although the Iron are three divisions above their opponents that a walkover will be unlikely.
“There are a few more trialists in the squad for Saturday so I’m not sure whether many will complete the full 90 minutes, but I’m fit and I’m ready for 90 minutes if it comes to that," he added.
“In previous experiences of playing non-league sides I have sometimes been on the end of a few bad tackles which you probably wouldn’t get in a normal game.
"They are your toughest games in pre season because it’s their biggest game of the season so they're going all out to win in front of a bigger crowd than what there used to.
“I’ve lost plenty of times against teams that are not in the top leagues so we can’t take it as a walkover because the chances are is that they are going to be 100 per cent.
"We want to win though and start getting that winning feeling so we’ll be going out there to win.”
See much more from Christian Ribeiro and Connor Jennings on The Iron Player.