SAINTS have returned invigorated from their week of intense training in Tenerife - and are ready to put that into practice on Sunday.

The time away did not only allowed the team to go through some important drills and fine tuning on dry pitches, it was also beneficial for the squad bonding together and for them to get to know more of what makes the coach Kristian Woolf tick and vice versa.

Although there are no new players, supporters will get to see any tweaks to the way Saints play in the testimonial clash with London on Sunday (2.30pm).

Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, who marks his 10 seasons at the club with that benefit game, gave his early impressions of the straight-shooting new boss.

The Londoner said: “He is good. He has got his own way about him and I find him easy to get along with.

“He puts himself out there and what is black is black and what’s white is white.

“He is straight to the point.

“He has come in and said he doesn’t want to change much, just improve on a little bit of stuff.

“All the boys are buying into it. And we have grabbed it with both hands, whether it is working on our defence or attack.”

Woolf is the only real change to Saints from last year, with four players departing, but the promotion coming from within.

McCarthy-Scarsbrook believes this will work - and that the team are buzzing to build on last year's success.

"We have not brought anyone in – we have promoted a couple of youngsters but they were here last year," he said.

"In a way we know everyone – we just have a new head coach and that is easy because you can have one-to-ones with him.

"We still have the buzz from last year, and everyone is champing at the bit to recreate last year.

"Hopefully we can can do that."

To an outsider, seeing the squad swap the wind, rain and cold of the Cowley training ground for a week in the Canary Islands, does seem like a welcome break.

But it was a week of some serious business.

McCarthy-Scarsbrook said: “We had a good camaraderie with the whole squad and you get to know boys as they are.

“Last time they went away was 2009 year before I came so I have had to wait 10 years.

“To train on dry pitches in warm weather you can get through more in the longer days and there is intensity with it.”

Woolf, who will be taking charge of his first game since joining Saints has been happy with the way the squad has responded in training.

He said: “The blokes have worked hard and there is a really good discipline about the group.

“They have done that for the whole pre-season and in Tenerife we challenged them both on and off the field.

“We got a lot out of the week and have come back feeling really good about what we have done.

“We get the opportunity to show that this week in the trial and make sure we are right for round one.”

This Sunday the focus is on beneficiary McCarthy-Scarsbrook, who has shaken off a wrist injury and is right to play against his former club.

Woolf spoke highly of the popular Londoner’s application to training in the off-season.

“We gave out some awards before Christmas to who we thought had been the best trainers and that went to Louie.

“He has a terrific ability as an older player to still really enjoy what he is doing, but that enjoyment does not interfere with how he trains,” he said.