Graeme Shinnie sat down and spoke to RedTV before the team travelled to Portugal. He talked about the first week with the new manager and new players, plus his hopes for the campaign ahead.

“The pre-season trips are massively important as everyone gets to know each other. We’ll spend a lot of time together on and off the pitch which helps form those bonds. A bit of sun as well doesn’t go amiss as well!

“Finishing the way we did last season, having a break then starting fresh under a new manager has been brilliant. There’s a real excitement and we’re looking forward to the new season.

“I spoke to the manager after the season ended over the phone. We had a good chat and I’ve had two or three since. When the new manager comes in you want to sort things out in terms of how he deals with day-to-day life and sort fines out and all these things.

“We’ve also chatted about the football, not just with the manager but with all the staff who have come in. It’s important we have a bond between the squad and the staff.

“The manager has made it obvious what he wants in terms of that but the things he’s doing which people won’t see are important for the squad. There are little things around the training ground each day about making sure our habits are right. It’s also my job to help create that as well.

“For me personally, the older you get the more enthusiastic you get as you know your years are running out and you want to make the most of it. I can’t wait to get going again.

“The determination to try to lift silverware at this club has always been massive for me. I’m desperate for it. I’d love to win a cup and do as well as we can in the league. The league form was the one thing we really let ourselves down in but we did well in the cups. We got to one final and the Scottish Cup semi-final was one of those games which will live long in the memory.

“But we want to go one better.

“Last season we’ve had great moments here and had to deal with some hard moments as well. Last year’s hard moments were some of the toughest I’ve gone through at this club but you deal with it.

“We beat Rangers in the league and their manager left after that. We drew at home with Celtic and beat Hearts at home as well but the consistency was never there and it let us down a bit. I’m always demanding of this team and I want to finish as high up the table as we can. We know what’s coming and we don’t want to be there again.

“There’s a hunger to improve this year.”

RedTV | to watch the feature with Graeme please click here