One down, three to go this week as the Rams' pre-season programme heads to North West Counties side Irlam for match number four

It is the start of a busy week for the Rams with four pre-season friendlies in eight days, commencing with Saturday's visit to old friends Daisy Hill.

How good was it to have football back on Saturday? But time doesn't stop, time to move on from the Euro2020 disappointment on Sunday night and back on the touchlines for our second pre-season game of the season.

It has been 253 long, long days since the Rams' last fully competitive fixture but the joy to have football back, even in the form of a pre-season friendly, marks a significant moment in these 'post-Covid' times.