With Daniel Farke’s squad reporting for pre-season testing at the start of the week, the hard yards are being put in as the players get back up to speed with the upcoming season just around the corner.

Impressing in a debut term with the Whites last time around was James Justin, making 34 appearances for the club across a variety of positions and now aiming to build on that on the return to Premier League action.

“It is exciting to be back with the lads and see everyone’s faces again,” the versatile full-back began, catching up with LUTV at Leeds Beckett University. “It has been quite a long off-season and, yeah, we are ready to get back to work.

“I feel like over the last 10 years that I have been around it, it has changed dramatically. Everyone comes back fit and raring to go now. Everyone is in a good place so far and we are excited to get back on the pitches.”

It has been a thoroughly enjoyable few months for James who, after playing his part in securing the Whites’ Premier League status, tied the knot at the start of the summer.

With the wedding and honeymoon ticked off, attentions very quickly turned to the upcoming campaign’s preparations, with the 28-year-old recharged and raring to go after his time off.

“It was amazing, the best day of my life and everything that I had hoped it would be,” he proudly said of getting married. “Football is a big thing but your family is always number one. Making them happy and proud is the most important thing to me.

“It was great to have those moments after the cut and thrust of last season. It was nice to just completely switch off from football and take a step back, really.

“Every game comes with pressure, every training session comes with pressure, and there is a lot of pressure at such a big club like this. So, it is key to have a bit of time to reset in the summer and hopefully everyone has done so.

“I think the first run that they set us was the day after my wedding so a couple of days after that, I was focusing about getting my body in the right place, as well as enjoying time with family and having a bit of time off from the actual graft.”

The club have already dipped into the transfer market, securing the services of Wales international Harry Wilson, whose fine season at Craven Cottage saw the forward earn Fulham’s Player of the Season accolade.

Discussing the squad’s first new arrival, Justin added: “We know the type of player he is and what he has done over the last few seasons. He is a special player and he has got that quality that it is hard to come by, to be honest.

“Hopefully he is a good addition to the squad and keeps us going in the right direction. Obviously, he knows loads of the lads already so I am sure he will bed in properly in no time.”

Daniel Farke’s squad have reported back for their first week of testing before they travel across the Atlantic for the much-anticipated US Tour this summer, where they will face Wrexham, Sunderland and Liverpool in three of the States’ most iconic venues.

Discussing the upcoming trip, the England international is looking forward to playing once more in front of the Leeds United faithful and hopes a productive pre-season schedule will translate into performances in the Premier League.

“Leeds is a worldwide club and hopefully we can have a few fans out there in the US and, yeah, see what it is like, the facilities, and make sure we are training right to be ready for the upcoming season.

“Now, we are going to have new goals and we are excited for the upcoming season. The first thing is to get to safety mark. That is the baseline.

“Last season was great and we finished 14th. That was a good start but backing it up season after season and growing on things and building things is the most difficult part.”