Manchester City skipper Vincent Kompany is already impressed with Manuel Pellegrini as the new manager looks to make his mark at the English Premier League club.
Pellegrini embarks on a new era at City after Roberto Mancini was fired from his job in May. The manager has already met with most of the players with City's preseason now in full swing.
"It's great to be back, I've been looking forward to this for a while," Kompany told the club's official website. "Football is what we love to do, so I'm pretty happy to be here and the weather is perfect at the moment, so it's great to finally start the season.
"I think all of us have done some preparation work during the holidays though because the guys look very sharp after a long break, so that's great.
"It was also nice to start work with the new manager and I think his approach with the team today was really good.
"It's important now to try and improve on the last campaign and make sure that whatever the new manager brings in, that we try and make it our own as quick as possible."
Last season saw City go through a season without winning a single piece of silverware, which eventually led to Mancini being let go. Kompany is determined to set things right come the new season.
"We're at a big club, so the only goal we can have is to win trophies," he said. "There's about six or seven clubs in England alone in this situation, so it will be very competitive.
"Our objective this year is to win things and to play well together. We all know that we have to be very strong as a team and bond with each other.
"It's an important year for everyone -- we have a lot to put right after last season and internationally it's a World Cup year, so there are so many reasons to perform well.
"We've got the squad to do that, but a lot of hard work needs to be done first."
Kompany is also looking forward to making the trip to South Africa with City set to begin their preseason tour, which also includes Hong Kong, Germany and Finland, this week.
"I'm really excited about the trip to South Africa, especially as I missed out last time as I had to have surgery on my foot," Kompany added.
"Symbolically it's a big thing for me as Nelson Mandela is one of my heroes and examples.
"The squad had the pleasure of meeting him on the last tour, but just to be there this time is important for me even though I know it is a difficult time as he is in poor health.
"It's also good for the team to visit Africa as we know how big the fan base is there. The fans might not all live in Manchester, but they probably feel the same as anyone living in Manchester about this club, so that is a great thing."
