The Seasiders were meeting at Myerscough College to begin the build-up towards a new Championship campaign which kicks off at QPR on August 8.

The early emphasis will be on running, as the players shake off the cobwebs and get back to business after the summer break.

Tomorrow they will undergo a series of tests which will establish how fit they are, and they will continue to be tested on a regular basis as Holloway aims to use a scientific approach to ensure his team is in tiptop condition by the time the season starts.

Of the current Pool squad, Ian Evatt is the only player Holloway has previously managed.

And the boss is looking forward to introducing himself to the rest.

"I think the players might be a bit apprehensive about meeting me but I'm certainly not nervous," said Holloway, after returning from a two-day meeting with Valery Belokon in Latvia.

"I'm really looking forward to it and it will be just nice finally to get on the training ground and meet the players.

"Mind you they probably won't be in a great mood because when you go back to pre-season it is horrible really.

"I've done 19 or 20 of them as a player and no matter how you cut it, no matter what preparation you've done, it is awful.

"The reason for that is that you're asking your body to do things it doesn't really want to do day after day.

"The stiffness you get is quite hard to bear at times but hopefully we'll plan it right and make sure we work them in the right way."

Pool will spend most of the early part of pre-season using training facilities away from the Blackpool area.

That's because Squires Gate isn't yet ready, with extensive work ongoing to improve the playing surface.

"Hopefully the pitches and the training facilities will be greatly improved when they are finally ready and we start using them," added Holloway.

"I've spoken to the chairman who has told me he has spent some extra money and that's good because these things are important.

"We need to try to stop the injuries we've been getting. We got a lot last season and so anything we can do to try to improve that situation is good.

"I'm really looking forward to today and getting back to being a manager.

"Most of them will never have met me before and probably won't know what to expect.

"But hopefully they'll have an interest in what I've got to say and we can move forward.

"Rome wasn't built in a day, and it will be a slow and gradual progress.

"What I've got to try to do is build on the great success the club has had over the last five years and fingers crossed we can do that."