Simon Murray has candidly admitted that last season the Dundee United squad were simply not fit enough.
Now though after what he has described as his toughest pre-season ever under new boss Ray McKinnon, the players are reaping the rewards of all their hard work.
That was glaringly evident on Saturday at Glebe Park as Brechin were swept aside, having no answer to the pace and high tempo set by United.
McKinnon’s men netted four times in the first-half through Justin Johnson, Scott Fraser, Blair Spittal and Murray himself.
Brechin managed to stem the tide in the second 45 but they were helpless to stop Murray putting the icing on the cake in the 79th minute with a superb volleyed finish from the edge of the box to make it a five-star victory and performance.
The striker said: “Pre-season so far has been tough, the toughest I have ever had and something a lot of the boys have been speaking about.
“Obviously, I think last season we weren’t fit enough for the league and he (McKinnon) has noticed that.
“He has come in and has said that he wants everything done at 100% every day in training. Him and Laurie (assistant boss Ellis), all the coaching staff are right behind us getting us working hard.
“It has been a tough couple of weeks and I am sure there are further tough weeks to come but you will have seen against Brechin that we are looking sharp, we are looking quick . . . we are a young, fit team and it is looking good.”
Before Murray netted his first, he had a succession of chances but was thwarted by Brechin keeper Graeme Smith with another effort cleared off the line by a home defender.
However, the striker kept working away and he insisted that these early games are all about honing sharpness.
He said: “I had a few chances in the first-half and I thought one of them was in when I went round the goalie, to be honest.
“But it is pre-season and you get your sharpness from these games.
“It was good to get two goals, though.
“If you just keep working hard, the goals will come. I kept on going and got my reward.
“At the second one, I took a touch and it fell nicely so I just thought I would hit it and it flew into the top corner.
“I have scored a few good goals for United but that was probably my best finish.
“I don’t normally score goals like that – most of mine come in the box – but I will take any.”
United have their first “proper” competitive fixture on Friday against Arbroath in the Betfred Cup with Murray looking forward to revisiting his former club Arbroath.
He said: “Even although we will still be going through pre-season until the first league game, it is a good way to get your competiveness in quicker.
“I am looking forward to going back to Arbroath. I left on good terms and they are a great club.
“I still have a lot of close friends who are in the team.
“I am sure the fans will give me a warm welcome.
“I have also been messaging Bobby Linn over the last couple of weeks saying he better get injured at work!
“But seriously, there are no mates on the football field and I will be going there determined to help us get a victory.”
Meanwhile, Brechin boss Darren Dods insisted that despite the 5-0 defeat, the game was still a worthwhile exercise for his players.
He said: “I thought Dundee United were excellent.
“We made it more competitive second-half but it was a good learning exercise for ourselves.
“They played at a really high tempo in the first 15 minutes or so and we took time to adjust to that.
“We still have 10 days until our first game so we have to get our tempo up and be more competitive.”
United’s Mark Durnan missed the game because of an ankle injury.
