The Arbroath players may be part-timers but Gayfield gaffer Dick Campbell insists they will possess full-time fitness levels this season.
The Red Lichties squad began their preparations for life in the Championship on Monday evening with their first pre-season training session in Perth.
Campbell and his coaching team put the players, including new signings and several unnamed trialists, through their paces as they start to look forward to mouth-watering games against the likes of the two Dundee clubs in the forthcoming campaign.
The manager is looking to add three or four further new faces to last season’s League 1-winning team.
However, one player who will not be joining Arbroath is Morgaro Gomis. Campbell had held amicable talks with former Dundee United midfielder about a possible move to Gayfield but the 32-year-old has now signed for Falkirk.
Campbell said: “The boys were back for pre-season on Monday night and I was very happy with them.
“We had new signings big Derek Gaston and Scott Stewart there as well as four different trialists – two from St Johnstone, one from England and one from the juniors – so we will have a look at them.
“There are still three or four of the lads on holiday and we also continue to have difficulties with schoolteachers in the squad or lads who are married to teachers needing time off.
“It is a big problem for part-time mangers.
“The ball was out on Monday night and there was also some good fitness work.
“We will be up against a lot of full-time teams this season but we will be fit, that’s a certainty.
“The boys do a lot of work on their own as well as our training and they all came back in good nick.
“We have games lined up against Hearts, Hibs, Celtic, Montrose and possibly Aberdeen so it is as good a pre-season set of fixtures as you could get.”
