The squad are now on the field after a month of fitness work and Lane says the hard work is continuing as they look to prepare for the 2013-14 Premiership season.
“We used June just to familiarise ourselves with the new faces,” Lane said.
“It’s been a worthwhile exercise but we don’t want to carry a huge squad, it’s more about the quality of the player rather than the numbers we get through because I know in the past that there’s been a tendency to carry too many.
“What’s pleasing is we’ve kept the quality guys from last year and we’ve signed a good mix of youth and experience who are working hard in training. I’m a big believer in the fact that if you put the effort in you get the reward you deserve.
“We started on the field on Monday, but what people have to remember is that we have very little time to prepare a team when you consider the number of hours that we have to work with from now until the first league game. Neil (Edwards, the new Neath head coach), is a stickler for attention to detail. Everything is planned, we know what we’re doing and when we’re training and what our goals are for the season.
“We’re using our pre-season time wisely and giving players as much information as possible. The sessions are short and sharp but intense. If we can tell the players that we’re on the field for an hour so give me all you’ve got we’re going to get so much more out of them.”
Lane has been busy outside of the training centres too, meeting up with the Ospreys and ensuring a solid link between the two clubs, building on the relationship they had last season which saw now Welsh international Dafydd Howells and others taking to the field at The Gnoll.
“The one thing that stands out is the relationship we’ve manage to build with Steve Tandy and his team at the Ospreys,” Lane adds.
“Already I’ve been in and spoken about our policies and I honestly think that it’s a really positive thing for Neath. In the future we want to see our young players make the step up to the Ospreys and I think the link we’ve now got is very positive going forward.
“I am really enjoying being at Neath. I’ve worked with Neil for two and a half years up in Ebbw Vale. I’ve known him for a long time and I know what his values are – that was probably the main attraction for me to come to Neath.
“I know that Neath are a great attraction anyway and a club with great tradition but when you know you’re going to be working with ambitious coaches like Neil and Robin Sowden-Taylor, we’ve a good recipe to be successful and even though we’ve only been there for four or five weeks, there’s been some positive signs.”
