The Arms Park outfit kick-off their RaboDirect Pro12 campaign against Glasgow Warriors on Friday night.
And he is confident the Blues will be far more competitive than last year where they finished a disappointing ninth in the league.
“I’m sure you will see an improvement,” said Pretorius.
“There was a few times last year when one score cost us in games whereas, this year, there are a lot more players who have that experience under their belts who will have learnt from that.
“We have had a really good pre-season and I’m really looking forward to seeing how guys, who we classed last year as young players but now classed as experienced players, play.
“Last year eight of the boys walked into the opening Heineken Cup game not having played in the competition before.
“Now they’ve had five or six Heineken matches under their belt they will know what to expect when they are on the field and what is expected of them.”
The Blues also struggled in the Heineken Cup last season and won just one of their six pool stage matches.
This time round they face reigning champions Toulon, who they encountered last season, Glasgow and English outfit Exeter Chiefs.
“It’s a difficult group but that was always going to be the case. The Heineken is designed that way to ensure it’s good, competitive rugby. We’re looking forward to it,” said Pretorius.
“We pushed Toulon really close last year, at home and away. We performed above what probably everyone expected against them and I’m sure we can take it up another notch this campaign.
“We just work hard and try and control the controllables. That’s exactly what we did out there at Worcester.
“I thought the boys played exceptionally well and we could have even taken the score a little bit further
“The coaches have been fantastic throughout pre-season, making sure everybody comes into the season in the best shape they can be.
“Last year we went into the season with quite a few injuries. This year I think we have hardly got any so, as a group, we’re exactly where we need to be.”
