"It's just a really exciting time to be at Derry City" - Brandon Fleming

The 26 year-old full-back joined the club from his boyhood team, Hull City last summer on an 18 month deal and quickly established himself as a fans' favourite in just 13 appearances since making his debut against Bohemians at Brandywell in July.

Such was his impact, Tiernan Lynch worked quickly to extend his stay on Foyleside with the offer of a long-term contract which ties him to the club until the end of the 2028 campaign.

With a full pre-season under his belt and a much better understanding of the league, opposition teams and venues, Fleming expects to kick-on and help Derry challenge for that elusive league title last won in 1997 - two years before he was born!

He's been in Derry long enough already and immersed himself in the culture enough to understand the city's craving for success and he wants to write his name in the club's history books by helping deliver silverware this year.

"It would be unbelievable," said the Englishman - a popular character in the City dressing room, "It's hard to explain how big it would be. I've been at Derry six or seven months and for the people of the city, what it would do for this city as a whole would be massive.

"It's been too long since they've won the league so if we were to win the league, it would be unimaginable what it would be like here. It's what dreams are made of and something I'm desperate to do.

"I was really happy to extend my stay and try to follow on from last season. I feel a good pre-season under my belt will help me push on and hopefully go one better this season in terms of the league.

"In my time last season I played against every team in the division which is good. Obviously there's some away grounds I haven't been to yet but playing against every team means I know what to expect.

"I feel like we're getting better as a team and the development we've seen from staff and things we've been working on, you can see it coming together which is always good. It gives you good promise going into the season so I'm looking forward to the season starting now."

The significant investment in talent and quality in the close season brings with it heightened expectation levels but Fleming says the squad must 'embrace it'.

"You've got to embrace it. We know the quality we've brought into the building and we know with that comes expectation so we have to embrace it and enjoy the challenge we've got coming. We have a really good squad that is more than capable of doing good things."

Whether or not Derry can go one better this season and finish top of the pile, Fleming knows it's an historic season for various reasons as the Brandywell pitch finally gets a much needed makeover while the club will break new ground by playing at nearby Celtic Park in April.

Playing in European competition was also one of the key motivators behind making the move to Ireland and Fleming can't wait.

"I actually went to a Gaelic game at Celtic Park last year so I've been there and it's a big massive ground. If we got that packed out it would be unbelievable. Europe is another massive thing. There's no reason why we can't reach the group stages so it's just a really exciting time to be at Derry City,"