Watford Ladies first team coach Jackie Bushall says the Lady Hornets struggled with fitness towards the end of last season but expects an improvement this season.

The Golden Girls returned to pre-season training on Sunday morning as they prepare for the third round of the FA Women's Cup on February 1 and the start of the new Women's Super League season.

Speaking to the club's website, Bushall said: "We struggled a little bit towards the end of last season with their fitness levels. The development plan and programme of work we’ve put in place this year should hopefully hold us in good stead for the whole year, it’s a season action plan rather than a periodic action plan."

She added: "It’s been good, there’s a high level of attendance and they’ve really worked hard.

"The majority of the girls have kept their fitness levels up and have stuck to their fitness plan which is really encouraging in regard to going forward."

The group was larger than normal with several trialists included for manager John Salomon to run the rule over, as well as the club's development squad, whose season also begins next month.

"I’m pleased with the squad, though there’s area that we want to strengthen," explained Salomon. "We’ve got the core in place and a good squad but we are actively looking to strengthen in certain areas.

"We’ve got some trialists with us today who have done well and they’ll continue to stay with us in the coming weeks.

"There’s some new signings to announce this month, the squad is getting stronger and it’ll be ready for the start of the season."

And Salomon was also encouraged by the level of fitness from his squad following the festive period. He enthused: "It’s evident today how hard they have been working because some of the girls are looking really sharp.

"For them to be in that condition at this stage is really good because it shows us we can push them even further now and come the first game of the season, we’ll be stronger, faster and better prepared."