England ace Tom Johnson believes Exeter Chiefs fans can expect to see more from the club's younger players this coming season.
Last term saw the emergence of a host of youngsters as the club lifted the LV= Cup and finished eighth in the Aviva Premiership.
The likes of Sam Hill, Dave Ewers and Henry Slade went on to feature for England in their non-cap game against the Barbarians while Luke Cowan-Dickie went on the tour to New Zealand, before returning home injured.
With the experience of last season, for club and country, behind them, Johnson thinks they can take things to a new level in the 2014/15 campaign.
"I think more will be expected of them," he said. "It's good that so many of them have come through the ranks and are now getting that good quality game time.
"They are all putting in the hard work, but we've all seen their talent for a number of years. I suppose the difference now is that others further afield are seeing that talent emerge as well.
"I think it's great that we have these guys on board and I've no doubt they'll continue to get better and better as time goes by."
While the majority of his teammates have been back in training for five weeks, Johnson returned from his summer break this week. After featuring on England's three-Test tour of New Zealand, the 32-year-old was given some time off before rejoining his colleagues.
And the former Coventry back-rower thinks he has some work to do to catch his teammates up, with them all having next week away from the club.
"It was a really enjoyable summer, especially going to New Zealand and facing up to the Haka and the All Blacks," he said. "It was a real experience to do that and tackle all that culture and what that represents to the New Zealand people.
"Now it's nice to be back with the boys here in Exeter and getting down to the hard work. Right now they are flying, so I've got a bit of catching up to do."
Johnson will be hoping that this time next year he will be helping England prepare for the World Cup, which is taking place on home soil.
However, his main focus remains with the Chiefs and trying to force his way into the starting line-up for the start of this season.
And with the first league game away against London Welsh just over six weeks away, Johnson says it's important to get the hard work done now.
"The World Cup is on the horizon but, like with any season, it starts now with pre-season," he said.
"The Premiership is such a tough league you can't afford not to be at your best. The hard work has already begun because you know every week in this division is going to be a battle.
"We've got London Welsh first up and we know how tough that will be for us, that's why it's crucial we get ourselves into the best shape possible now."
When the players return from their week away from training with the club, they will have two weeks to get themselves ready for the first of three pre-season matches.
With redevelopment work continuing at Sandy Park, all three matches are away from home, starting with a trip to Cardiff Blues on Friday, August 15.
They follow that with a trip to Northern Ireland to play Ulster sevens days later before they wrap-up their pre-season preparations against Worcester on Friday, August 29.
Johnson thinks they will set the Chiefs up well for the trip to the Kassam Stadium for their Premiership opener against the Exiles on Sunday, September 7.
"We've got three really tough games to contend with in pre-season, but as players you want to know where you are at," said Johnson, who has won eight England caps.
"At the same time you want to make sure you're up to speed and that the physicality and work-rate is in your game.
"They are all on Friday nights, so that's a bit different to normal as well."
The pre-season games will give the players – established first-teamers and new signings alike – a chance to nail down a starting berth for the match against London Welsh.
Head coach Rob Baxter has so far made seven new signings for next season and Johnson said it was good to have players join from outside to keep everyone on their toes.
"There seems a really good vibe around the squad at the moment," he said. "It's competitive, as you'd expect, but it's friendly as well.
"A large number of the group have been together for a long time now, but it's always nice to have some fresh faces come into the ranks and offer something different."
