Neal Bishop has spoken to iFollow Iron ahead of the final friendly of pre-season away at Luton Town this Saturday.
The midfielder is feeling in good shape, having not missed a training session this pre-season, and is looking forward to the new League One campaign, which starts with a home clash against AFC Wimbledon on Saturday, August 5th.
The final warm-up game is at Kenilworth Road this weekend and Bishop says the standards must remain high.
ON PRE-SEASON FOR HIMSELF AND THE TEAM…
NB: It’s going well personally. It’s been good to get through it. I’ve done every session and pre-season is all about getting fitness, avoiding injury and being in the best possible condition come the first game of the season. Touch wood, it’s going well so far. The lads have worked hard and have come through it well. We put in a good performance against Sunderland and hopefully it bodes well for what’s to come. It was a good test for the lads defensively when they had possession of the ball. We restricted them and created our own chances.
"The lads have worked hard and have come through it well."
ON WHAT YOU CAN READ INTO PRE-SEASON…
NB: It’s always hard to judge pre-season. I’ve been in sides that have had great results in pre-season and started the season poorly, and then in some that have not got a win in pre-season and started like a house on fire. It’s always hard to read into the results and performances, but we have to get our fitness, get up to match tempo and avoid injuries.
ON THE CHALLENGE LUTON WILL POSE…
NB: I saw them face Blackpool in the play-offs. They were impressive, a good footballing team, and unlucky in the end. It will be a different kind of test to Sunderland but again another good one. It’s our last friendly before the serious stuff starts next week. We have to make sure we’re up to the standards we want to be at, knowing it’s our last friendly before the season starts.
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