Weston-super-Mare AFC are in preparation for the start of the 2024/25 season, with their first pre-season match against League One side Exeter City coming up this week on Friday July 12.

The Seagulls have been in Vilamoura, Portugal at the well-known Browns Sports Resort for their summer pre-season camp before matches kick-off.

The 24-man squad have been training three times a day under the watchful eye of manager Scott Bartlett and his crew, as well as being provided with the best facilities, nutrition, and physiotherapy that they could ask for.

Bartlett spoke of the benefits of having the pre-season trip abroad, as well as the value of having the resort at their disposal.

He said: “We’re very fortunate to be here. We don’t take things like this for granted. It’s really valuable being able to get the group together and obviously we’ve got a lot of work to get through will we’re here but it’s a fantastic facility.

“The training pitches here are fantastic, it’s just sort of a one-stop shop with everything we need really.

“You’ve got rugby teams here, professional footballers here as well, training before us. So it’s just a great environment to get the players back into the swing of it and we’ve all worked hard to make it happen.

“Like I said we’ve got everything here (that we need for training), we know what we want to cover in these three or four days so it’s just making sure we get it done in the right order.

“We don’t take this for granted, the players young and old really appreciate it and I have to say, obviously the board are always fantastic, but this is a real area of improvement for us being able to do this.”

Weston also hosted their first pre-season training as an open session for the public to watch late last month, as well as training side by side with the Weston Women’s team.

After the session Bartlett said: “It was a good morning’s work, the lads look in good shape and it was nice to see the new players as well.

“Obviously the group’s been freshened up a bit but the lads look powerful, it was a good first day.”

The Seagulls now face Exeter City in their first pre-season game of 2024 on July 12, before going on to play Slimbridge AFC, Tiverton Town, and more in the following weeks.