Day says Saints squad is full of fresh ideas ahead of new season

Jim Mallinder’s men grabbed Amlin Challenge Cup and Aviva Premiership glory at the end of a memorable campaign.

But the talk this summer has been about improving to make sure what happened last time round was not simply a one-off.

And the squad have been throwing fresh plans into the mix as they bid to avoid being knocked off their perch.

“We had a debrief as a squad where everyone can put forward their suggestions for the season and a lot of players came forward with way we need to improve,” explained experienced lock Day.

“The coaches have been fantastic in taking that on board.

“We know other teams have strengthened, we know they will be coming at us hard because we’re at the top of the tree now and we’re the first person everyone’s going to be looking to knock off.

“There’s five or six teams who will all have their eyes on the trophy for next season and having had the success we’ve had for the past few years we want to make sure we’re up there again contesting the big finals and playing in the big occasions.”

Day has been at Saints since the summer of 2008, when he moved from Stade Francais.

And last season was the culmination of plenty of hard graft as Northampton finally ended their wait for a Premiership title.

“It’s obviously a big deal for the town that we’ve got that honour,” said Day.

“We’ve built over the years, taken some flak for that and it’s great that we’ve finally got across the line with one of the big ones.”