James Dornelly on what he needs to do to break into the Peterborough United first team

The 19-year-old right back endured a frustrating campaign last season with his breakthrough into the first team stalled by injury.

After appearing in five cup games before the turn of the year, he was forced to wait until the end of April to make his League One debut; playing three times in league before Posh got their play-off campaign underway.

Posh boss Darren Ferguson has already admitted that Dornelly would have had more opportunities were it not for injury.

He said: “James has been a fixture in the first team for a while now and he would have played more games last season had it not been for his injury.

"We’ve got full belief in him. It’s a big season for him, he needs to really challenge whoever we bring in at right back.”

With pre-season currently in progress, the youngster has set his sights on improving his fitness to allow him to last the 90 minutes in matches. Of his eight appearances last season, he only completed one full match; in the 1-0 defeat in the dead rubber EFL Trophy group match against Colchester in November.

He is expected to be given an opportunity to earn the starting right-back berth this season but the club are looking to bring in another body in that area.

Dornelly said: “It’s just about getting fitter from where I was last season and then with the opportunities I’ve got here, I should be able to play more and that’s my goal.

“I need to get used to the intensity and build my fitness up because I was cramping towards the end of matches. I need to improve that to be able to last the 90 minutes.

“The intensity is so much higher in senior football, the ball is moving so much quicker and the players are much faster and stronger.

“There’s double the pressure in training too so you just have to get used to that too.

“It was perfect to be able to learn off two really good players in my position last year (Jadel Katongo and Peter Kioso). I learnt a lot, especially from PK in terms of being a role model and how he leads.

“Having a young squad makes it easier from everyone and helps everyone fit in. It’s a good thing that we’re all in the same position.

“I’m in a good mental space right now so I just need to push on this pre-season, work hard and see what happens.”