PAT SMITH is relishing another pre-season with York City Knights - and the world of difference compared to his last one.

Work commitments outside of rugby league took 2015 skipper Smith to Germany throughout last winter, meaning he missed the annual sweat and tears of gruelling pre-season preparations that time, and had to forfeit the armband as a result.

But the 26-year-old, who returned to Blighty in the spring and broke back into the team to feature 15 times last term, has been in the thick of it this winter - and says it is a far cry from 24 months ago when the club had no base, left homeless amid the community stadium saga.

"For me personally it's nice to be back involved in a pre-season, doing the hard work together," he said.

"Pre-season becomes a part of your life, doing it for ten years. But last year I was in Germany. I was there thinking, 'I should be running up hills in Pontefract!'."

Asked to compare pre-season this time at Nestle Rowntree Park with the nomadic spell two years ago, he laughed: "We're all in one spot now, which is good for a start.

"A couple of years ago you'd get a phone call on Monday to say where we were training on Tuesday.

"The facilities here are excellent, and of course the backroom staff are really well organised as always and very professional."

Smith first joined his hometown club in 2014 from Sheffield Eagles and, after helping the team, then led by Gary Thornton, to the League Leaders' Trophy in their last season at Huntington Stadium prior to its planned redevelopment, he was nominated for the League One Player of the Year accolade.

York have since twice reached the play-offs under James Ford, despite the off-field crises that continued to befall the club, in which time Smith has taken his total number of appearances to 66 in three years.

Said the former England Students international: "I just want to see this club achieve what it can achieve under no duress.

"Since I've been here there's always been something on the horizon that might get in the way or becomes a reason why we haven't quite succeeded how we wanted to.

"This is a bit of a transitional, rebuilding period now and we need to take each game as it comes.

"But we'll keep working hard and hopefully make a good fist of it as the year goes on."

Smith arrived as a half-back but has latterly played more at hooker - a role he is being earmarked for in 2017, interchanging with Harry Carter, following top-scorer Kriss Brining's switch to Salford.

"Like in the last couple of years I'm happy to play where James Ford wants me to play," Smith said.

"If that's hooker then brilliant. I like it at hooker and I get on well with Harry. I think we complement each other.

"We're not going to fill the void that Kriss Brining has left but we've got a couple of other tricks up our sleeves."