Jack Aitchison signed for Bristol Rovers all the way back in June, and after a packed pre-season and a Carabao Cup clash last weekend, the 26-year-old is eager to get the Sky Bet League Two campaign underway.
Focus has shifted from the Carabao Cup and onto York City away on Saturday in the league opener at the LNER Community Stadium.
He joined the club before the pre-season as the eighth signing of the summer, with Steve Evans looking to put together the majority of his side before any games took place.
Speaking to the media before the match, Aitchison reflected on how he has settled into the blue-and-white quarters and is excited to face the Minstermen for the first time.
SETTLING IN
"I feel like I've been here a while now. St Andrew’s helped everybody gel. I thought it was a good trip to bond as a team and, yeah, we're back for business now.
"I felt that speaking to the gaffer helped. I came up and met the gaffer and the owners as well, and I felt like the project they presented was aligned with how I wanted to go. I wanted to get back to League One, and they’ve got the same mindset, so I thought it was a good match.
"I've never left one club and joined another before preseason, so I felt that was key — how interested Bristol were in getting me in early, meeting the team, and gelling straight away. I'm glad I did it."
FAVOURITE POSITION
"Number ten. That could be the lone ten, which I'm used to playing. I can play the six, the eight, and I can play the left wing, but my preferred position is ten."
IMPORTANCE OF GOALS AND ASSISTS
"They're really important for me, but it's not something I can control that much. What I can control is the chances created, but adding more goals to my game is the aim this season."
PETERBOROUGH REVIEW
"It's a weird one. It’s the first competitive game, everyone’s got nerves, and maybe the gaffer is still figuring out what team is best. You can’t look too much into that. The real business starts on Saturday."
PROMOTION HOPES
"I knew that before I even joined, before people started saying it, because it’s a massive club. Playing against them in the past, they’re always expected to win. But we don’t look too much into that — we focus on what we’re doing, and if we do that, I’m sure we will.
CONTINUING THE MOMENTUM
"I think it was eight wins and a draw [to end last season], which was really good going. To keep that going — the gaffer’s spoken about it a lot, Paul Raynor has spoken about it a lot — so it’s in our minds, and that’s what we want to try and do."
YORK PREVIEW
"I'm not too sure. I've never played against York in my career, so I'm looking forward to that. It’s another stadium. When they got promoted, I heard they could be favourites to go up. They’ve got a new manager, so I'm unsure how they'll play. As you say, it's not the easiest one to start with, but maybe that's the best thing for us to get momentum going."
