Neal Ardley has promised his AFC Wimbledon squad returning for pre-season that he won’t be employing draconian methods on the training grounds.

The Dons players are due to report back for duty at the club’s training ground this morning as preparations begin for life in League One next term.

Two more new faces will be among those descending on Wimbledon’s New Malden base following the signings of Dean Parrett and Dominic Poleon over the weekend.

Footballers always dread their first day back at work after having time off for the summer and there will be a few worried boys rolling in today.

But boss Ardley has reassured them he will be keeping things interesting for them this summer after confirming he has no intention of employing punishing routines.

He said: “We don’t do anything without the ball. The only running they will do is with the ball.

Back at work: AFC Wimbledon manager Neal Ardley

“We’re new school here - not old school - they wear the heart-rate monitors and GPS systems and that tells us whether the work we’re doing is covering the right areas.

“Doing mile-long runs and stuff like that is old school and that’s really not what we’re about at this club.

“It’s each to their own but I think our record over the last seasons is very good with muscle injuries and I think that shows us we’ve taken good care of these players.”

AFC Wimbledon are running with a five-week pre-season schedule rather than their usual six-week programme this season after their extended play-off campaign.

They are returning back to work just a day after painting the town yellow and blue with an open-top bus parade to celebrate their elevation to the third tier.

Thousands lined the streets of Wimbledon town centre to greet their heroes as Ardley thanked the supporters for showing the same passion that helped secure promotion.

The Dons also used the occasion to unveil their new home and away kits for the 2017/17 campaign as eager fans got their hands on the strips at Centre Court shopping centre.

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