Saul: "It's always nice to see there are fans following us wherever we go"

Saul Ñiguez was without a shadow of a doubt a key figure for the team coached by Diego Simeone last term. The youngster proved himself to be a consistently excellent performer, racking up 31 LaLiga appearances and scoring four times in the league. Now the midfielder is looking to build on that breakout campaign and cement his place in the Atletico Madrid line-up, which is one of the goals in his sights while working hard in pre-season training in Melbourne, Australia.

Speaking after the team's first session at AAMI Park, Saul commented that, "It's always nice to see there are fans following us wherever we go. This is the first time I and many of my teammates have been here and it's a lovely city. Now is the ideal time to ensure that we're well prepared for the season ahead."

Atletico are currently gearing up to face local side Melbourne Victory, having beaten Tottenham Hotspur in the first of their two fixtures in the city. "As a squad we're in very good shape, but we're now at a stage where the tiredness is building and in the games the results aren't the be-all and end-all. The aim is more to get minutes under our belts and get ourselves up to speed to make a strong start to the season."

Simeone's charges are now into their third week of pre-season training, as they prepare themselves for a campaign which promises to present the squad with no shortage of challenges. In terms of the side's objectives for the coming year, Saul revealed that, "We're always focused on improving on what we did in the previous season, but without laying down any specific targets and just taking it one game at a time."