New Queen of the South forward Michael Ruth has been pounding the treadmill so that he can hit the ground running in League One.
The former Aberdeen and Queen’s Park striker has got a few weeks of pre-season under his belt but was always keeping an eye on his fitness.
He said: “I go to the gym on holiday just on the treadmill, just light to be honest. Then the hard work is here when you go back.
“The move was about for a couple of weeks but to finally be in training with the boys is brilliant.
“I’m trying to get myself as fit as possible before the season starts and kick on from there.
“It has been good and tough pre-season and you need to do that especially going into League One where it will be a tough league.
“You kind of keep yourself ticking over and when you go on holiday you take a week to enjoy yourself. But you need to keep yourself ticking over so that when you do come back you are ready to kick on .
“Then the next few weeks is about doing the work and kicking on for the new season.”
And the new season is just 11 days away. Queens start with a Premier Sports Cup tie at home to local rivals Annan Athletic. So what can fans expect from the 20-year-old?
He said: “I’m a goalscorer to be honest that’s what I want to do.
“I want to create chances and always be in the right area.
“I would like to score and create chances.
“So when the ball comes up then I will keep it and try and get the team up the park and create chances for the other attacking players.
“I just want to bring goals this season and always be in the box.
“Gavin’s experienced and played at a lot of different clubs and played at a higher level.
“Playing alongside him it will be good for me to learn off. Hopefully we get a partnership going.”
Ruth does bring League One experience with him to the Doonhamers and knows the challenges his side will face in the coming campaign.
Ruth added: “I was at Falkirk last season and I know what he league is about. Obviously we didn’t do as well as we wanted to and missed out on the play-offs but this season it especially looks like a hard league.
“But you want to be playing against the best teams and show you’re good enough.”
