Shaun Whalley has admitted he feels at the peak of his powers ahead of the 2017-18 season, after he impressed in the 2-1 win over Cardiff City on Tuesday night.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing opened the scoring for the visitors before Whalley struck from the spot and Louis Dodds added another shortly after to hand Town the victory.
“It was really good – the lads did brilliant on Saturday and we carried it on today,” he said.
“First-half I don’t think we were at the same level as we have been in the previous two games, but the Gaffer and Doigy had a few words at half-time and then we came out and did really well.
“I thought we dominated another Championship team in the second-half, and fully deserved the win in the end.”
Despite speaking positively about the game, Whalley did admit that results in pre-season were somewhat irrelevant and that the squad were looking forward to the season opener against Northampton.
“Friendlies are only what they are at the end of the day – friendlies. I’d take losing every friendly as long as we won our first game of the season against Northampton,” he added.
“But there’s no reason why we can’t win all our pre-season friendlies and our first game of the season – but you just have to take these results with a pinch of salt.”
The 29-year-old was a key figure in Town’s squad last season, but he has revealed he feels like he’s only improving as a player year-on-year, as well as hailing the club’s host of new arrivals.
“I feel I’m at my peak now and I have done for the last couple of seasons,” Whalley said. “But I feel like I’m getting better every year – so hopefully I can have a good season.
“All the lads who have come in have settled in really well. I think it helped going away to Portugal – it bonded everyone together and I think they have all done well so far.
“It looks like we’ve got a really good squad and it’s only good to have competition all over the park - so hopefully we can start the season well which is the most important thing.”
Whalley was keen to emphasise that every one of Paul Hurst’s signings has made a positive impact at the club, although he did admit Jon Nolan had stood out in pre-season.
“I don’t want to single out any of the new lads because they’ve all done really well and I’m sure they’ll all play a part next season,” he said.
“But with [Nolan] he’s got a real class about him and I can’t wait to see him this season. He’s got three years here hopefully so we’ll be seeing a lot of him.
“You can give him the ball at any time and he’s going to keep hold of it this time. We seem to have a certain link-up, where he knows where I am, and I know where he is.”