After making his first appearance for the Dons at stadiummk on Wednesday night, full-back Lee Hodson is counting down the days until the season starts.
The 20-year-old only joined the Dons on a one-year-deal from Watford six days ago, yet he has already made two appearances for the Club and the Northern Ireland international is looking to add plenty more to that tally in 2013/14.
Before he can get his competitive career with the Dons underway , though, Hodson and his new team-mates must navigate their way through two more pre-season fixtures - the first of which takes place tomorrow afternoon at Barnet.
Speaking to MK Dons Player ahead of the trip to The Hive, the young defender said: “(Wednesday) was good. It was my first home game and it was just good to get back playing again. It was a great result for us as well.
“It’s a new experience for me (being at a new Club) but they’re a great bunch of lads here, there is a great coaching staff and I’m settling in well. I’m enjoying the way the team play their football and I’m excited to get the season started now.
“I’ve played Barnet about three or four times before in pre-season friendlies and in the League Cup but not at their new stadium. We’ll be looking to take stuff that we do in training into the game, as we did in the week, so we can get used to it.
“I think we showed on Wednesday night, the level that we’re at, at the moment and Saturday is another chance for us to go out there and give it another good go and show everyone what we can do. It will be another good test for us heading into the start of the season.”
While most of the Dons first team will be nearing peak fitness ahead of next weekend’s League opener, Hodson is playing catch-up having only been on the pitch for 150 minutes this summer.
The former Hornets trainee, however, is confident he’ll be physically, and mentally, ready come kick-off next Saturday. He added: “I’ve only played two games this pre-season so I’m playing catch up a bit but I feel quite fit and hopefully in the next couple of games I can get to my full level.
“Hopefully I’ll be ready for the August 3rd but I’ll probably do a few extra sessions just to get to that level that I’ll be comfortable starting the season at.
“It’s an exciting time, though, with it being the start of the season and at a new club. I’m looking forward to getting going and getting off to a good start.”
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