Having put in hard graft during the brief summer break with a personal trainer, Tom Dele-Bashiru is staking a claim for a first-team place for the Championship season ahead.
The 20-year-old impressed with 90 minutes during a friendly win against Scunthorpe United at Vicarage Road, in which new signing Jeremy Ngakia scored the only goal of the game.
“It’s a good feeling to be back out there. We’ve been working hard in training to gel as a team, trying to understand how each other play,” said Dele-Bashiru.
“We haven’t had that long to work on stuff, so we just have to work hard together, understand what the manager wants us to do straight away and apply that on the pitch.
“It’s looking good so far, everyone’s working hard, working together, because we know what the goal is and that’s to get back in the Premier League, so that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
The Scunthorpe fixture provided Vladimir Ivić a chance to evaluate the depth of his squad, and the new Head Coach has been explicit in his demands so far, according to Dele-Bashiru.
“He’s a good guy, he’s very detailed, he knows what he wants,” said the midfielder.
“He tries to motivate all the guys, he tries to speak to us all, he knows the goal as well and we’re all going to work towards the same direction.
“He can be quite laid back and reserved, he’ll watch on, he’ll say what he wants to say before the session and then we know what we’re going to do.”
Dele-Bashiru is committed to breaking into the team this year and so, rather than venturing abroad during the off season, the former Manchester City youngster stayed in the county and spent extra hours with his personal trainer.
“Hopefully I can break into the team this year,” he said.
“I’ve been working hard in training and I think the Championship will be a good opportunity for me to showcase my talent, so hopefully I can secure a starting place in the team.
“I’ve been keeping fit over the summer, I just went to Manchester to see my family and I was working with my personal trainer there. I feel fitter than I was last year, I feel ready to go, so hopefully I can show that on the pitch.”
