Previous manager Kevin Phillips often bemoaned his side’s lack of fitness last term, although it would be difficult to level that criticism at Ferguson, who has made 193 appearances over four years, featured 46 times last season and gets up and down the left flank relentlessly.
However, the lack of an obvious replacement at left-back meant that the 29-year-old was required to play pretty much every game, even though he ended the season with a series of knocks and niggles.
When the players return for preseason, new manager Darren Sarll—who attempted to sign Ferguson while he was in charge at Stevenage—will put his team through its paces. Assistant coach Carl Dickinson has experience instructing strength and conditioning.
Speaking to BBC Radio Tees after agreeing to a new contract to keep him at the Suit Direct Stadium for another season, Ferguson explained that, although he has taken a small bit of time off to allow his body to heal, the hard work has already begun.
“You’ve obviously got to keep yourself ticking over,” he stated.
“I took a little more than a week off for myself to unwind.
“I’ve had niggles the entire time. I recall knocking my knee during the Halifax game, and I’ve been playing through it ever since. I’m open to you at all times.
It simply involves rebuilding my strength and regaining that resilience within me.
“We receive programs and materials from the club, and since I am aware of my own body, I know what I need as I age.”It wasn’t by accident that I performed 193 times in four years.
“It’s the stuff I do in the off-season that sets me up for pre-season, and then the season.”
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