TWO days in and Craig Harrison is satisfied with the early stages of pre-season training.

Appointed Hartlepool United boss last month, Harrison met his players as a group for the first time at Maiden Castle in Durham on Monday.

And this morning, as he spoke to the press, the new Pools boss admitted: “Pre-season has changed a lot in the last 10-15 years. The lads came back four days earlier and it’s about bedding in and getting started.

“The lads did a bit on day one to be fair, and we have had the statistics of the GPS system we are using and they have done more than we thought they would.

“It’s about progression and we have almost six weeks to the first game of the season, the last thing we want is injuries.’’

Harrison has made six signings this summer, and appointed Matthew Bates to his coaching staff, with an assistant boss to follow.

Their first pre-season friendly is at Billingham Town a week on Thursday and he added: “We just want to be as fit as possible for the start of the season. They all came back in good condition, if you don’t come back in that condition, there’s only the player who misses out in the weeks to come.

“We all want to be the best, it’s almost an 11 month season now and the top players play all year round really.

“Coming back out of shape is not acceptable these days.’’