Dundee striker Steven Milne is expecting a hard time in the Highlands when the Dark Blues kick off their summer match schedule.
They play Turriff United on Thursday night before facing Formartine on Saturday and Milne is looking forward to the contests.
He said, “I am sure the teams up there will be a decent standard.
“They are ambitious and that means they will wanting to perform well against us.
“So it will be tough and the Turriff match is our first of the summer.”
He added, “It is always difficult getting up to pace in the first game back but I am sure we will be fine.”
Milne has been happy to put in the hours on the training pitch alongside boss Barry Smith in the hope of being fit and ready for the start of the season proper.
He said, “It has been good to get the pre-season under my belt and while the work has been hard it has been enjoyable at the same time.
“Gone are the days of just running up and down hills and around parks.”Deja vuHe added, “It is a lot more sophisticated than that.
“There is all the sports science in use now and you can really feel the benefit.
“Everyone’s goal in pre-season is building your fitness level as high as it can be without picking up an injury.”
Milne admitted he got flashes of deja vu after arriving back at his former club.
“I am getting used to being back now,” he said.
“At first, it was a little bit weird because so much at Dens is the same, with there being a lot of familiar faces,” he said.
“That is a positive thing, though, because I have felt right at home.”
The identity of the new Dundee captain to replace Gary Harkins will be revealed at Thursday night’s game.