CHARLIE Daniels admits he is ready to leave behind the summer and get back to work – with an improved Premier League finish on his agenda.

The 31-year-old left-back featured in all but three of Cherries’ top-flight fixtures last season as the Dorset outfit secured 12th place, the second-best league finish in club history.

Daniels and his team-mates are on Saturday due back in for fitness testing with pre-season beginning on Monday.

And the former Tottenham youngster is well aware he has to be in tip-top condition ahead of his eighth campaign in Cherries colours.

He told the Daily Echo: “I think everyone enjoys the break over the summer but after a few weeks you look forward to getting back.

“You need a good couple of weeks to rest and then you get your body ready.

“The way football is going, you have to be fit for the first day of pre-season rather than using pre-season to get fit.

“I’m fortunate that I know what the gaffer demands of us, so I know what to expect and it’s up to me to make sure I’m ready.

“I’d say 12th was probably about right for last season. We would have liked to have finished higher but we stuttered a few times.

“That’s probably where we deserved to end up and there were a lot of positives. We will come back firing and will expect to finish higher.”

Cherries ended last season as top dogs on the south coast having finished above Brighton and Southampton.

Asked if the players had thought about that landmark effort, Daniels said: “We did, especially when we played Southampton near the end of the season.

“We still haven’t beaten them away but to finish above them and the other teams on the south coast is a big thing for the club.

“Hopefully, we can keep doing that.”