JACK RODWELL was smiling, relaxed and seemingly happy as he sat at the Academy of Light. He had the look of a Sunderland midfielder refreshed from a summer break and enjoying a first pre-season schedule under Dick Advocaat.

This is a big year for Rodwell and he knows it. But having had a significant part to play in Premier League preparations ahead of the Black Cats’ trip to Leicester, he already feels in far greater shape than he did 12 months ago.

It was a year ago this week when the 24-year-old completed his move to the Stadium of Light after a frustrating two years at Manchester City. And, with Advocaat determined to get him back to the player he was at Everton, Rodwell is looking forward to getting started again at the King Power Stadium.

“I feel better now I've had a good pre-season,” said Rodwell. “Last season, with the move, I didn't play any games with Man City when we were abroad and I wasn't really training with them either. Then I think I played two 45 minutes for Sunderland and then I was in for the first game against West Brom a week later, so I wasn't anywhere near match-fit. This season, I've played quite a lot so I feel a lot sharper.

“The manager hasn't said much to me personally, but I get the feeling that he wants to get the best out of me and that is a good thing for a player. Obviously, last season didn't go as planned really. A lot of things went on, with the manager changing.

“But then the new manager came in and did a great job at the end of the season. All the lads are confident now and, looking back at the last few games of last season, I think we can go into this season now with that confidence behind us.”

Rodwell was part of the Sunderland team which lost 2-0 at Doncaster on Wednesday night. Already this summer he has found himself playing deep with Lee Cattermole in midfield as well as being asked to perform as more of a box-to-box man like he was known at Goodison Park.

Wherever he starts the season, he is determined to hit the ground running and from what he has seen he feels that Sunderland are in better shape following the arrivals of Jeremain Lens, Adam Matthews and Younes Kaboul.

“I think we needed a few players,” said Rodwell. “Towards the back end of last season we were really at it under the new manager, and we were playing out of our skins. I wouldn't like to rely on that again, so it is good that we have added to the squad over the summer.

“Nowadays in the Premier League, you have to spend to keep up with everyone else. If we get a few more signings, that will be brilliant. But I think the additions we have already seen have been good.

“Kaboul has Premier League experience at the back, which I think we needed, he is a solid centre-half. Lens looked brilliant to me on Wednesday, and he will only get better. We needed someone like that with some creativity in the final third, and some pace.

“I've seen him in training, I know what he is about and he has a lot of caps for Holland. He is the real deal, really. He did well and hopefully he will get us a few goals, because he had a few chances – a few shots from range, too.

“They've all fitted in well. Coates was here last season, Kaboul knows Jermain Defoe from Tottenham, I played against Adam Matthews in the Victory Shield when we were both 15 or 16, Lens is Dutch and speaks a lot to the manager and Patrick van Aanholt. They have all fitted in quite nicely.”

Sunderland are still looking to add to the squad before the end of August, although there has also been a drive to try to move players on to free up further room on the wage bill.

Rodwell, though, is just looking for a positive start at Leicester. He said: “We need to get as many points on the board as early as possible, because that helps massively. If you go into the second half of the season needing to get points when you know you should have got them in the games in the first half, it's not good as a player because you can feel the extra pressure.

“West Ham had an amazing first half of the season last year and, even though they took their foot off the gas, they could afford to do that. They just picked up points whenever they needed to and kept ticking over. We didn’t have that good start,, even though we didn’t lose too many games in the beginning.”