ANTONY Sweeney admits team spirit goes a long way in the Hartlepool United dressing room.
Pools have kept the vast majority of their key players intact for next season, with a number of squad players being freed by head coach Mick Wadsworth.
Sweeney is among a group of players to sign a new, extended contract at the club, alongside the likes of Peter Hartley and Scott Flinders.
Pools survived comfortably in League One last time out and the leading scorer and player of the year is confident a united camp will help secure more improvement next time around.
"The spirit in the dressing room is so important for us,'' he admitted. "We don't have the chance to buy many players who are in their prime, so if you can get any advantage over teams in terms of spirit and unity, then you take it.
"I've been here in the past when the dressing room spirit won us a lot of points. We showed after promotion to League One we were a surprise package for a couple of seasons and made the play-offs.
"Apart from the quality we had and the players we had, a lot was down to sprit. And if we can stay together and blend the new players in, then it can only be a good thing.''
With Nobby Solano, James Poole and Nathan Luscome already signed up by Wadsworth, Sweeney has welcomed their early arrivals for when the players return for pre-season training on July 1.
"The club has made a lot of new signings early this year, which is great. The earlier the better as far as I'm concerned and it gives us more time to get things right.
"Pre-season used to be about getting yourself fit but now the lads keep themselves fit over the summer, so pre-season is not only geared towards getting fit for that first game of the season but also working on team shape and player roles.
"With the squad in place, you have that time and advantage to get it right, rather than a batch of players coming in at the last minute and taking time to settle in.
"The majority of the squad is the same and it could stay that way for a while yet.
"There's Joe (Gamble) and Leon (McSweeney) of the regular players who have gone, but the majority are in place.
"The squad was, Mick said, far too big. The young lads were struggling to get a game for the reserves and there were senior pros on the bench, so the squad did need trimming down.
"It's about replacing players with quality and we have done that by bringing in Nobby and James Poole.''
Pools' offer of season tickets for as little as £100 has engineered plenty of interest during the close season.
They have currently sold 1801, with a further 2,199 needed to ensure they cost the minimum tariff before the cut-off point of July 15.
With junior tickets set to cost £50, Sweeney admitted: "There is a buzz around the place this summer. Last year it was the opposite, we signed two players on frees - one of them a 34-year-old who turned out to be one of the players of the season!
"But there was doom and gloom and, crowd-wise, it wasn't great. But there's a fantastic offer on and if we can get the crowds back it will help us no end. I know from experience that people don't like coming to the Vic at the best of times, but with the fans with us it can be a really hostile place and that can make the difference between one and three points.''
"I've played here when we were averaging over 5,000 and the fans helped us as much as anything.
"To see the place full again next season would be a great thing for everyone.
"The season tickets are selling well, hopefully when pay-day comes, they will shoot up again!
"The price of a season ticket is the same as going and paying into five games, so it's a cracking offer.
"More families will be able to come as now they can get four for the price of one.''
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