Charlie Raglan freely admits that one of the big reasons he has signed a two-year contract with Cheltenham Town is because he will be working with manager Michael Duff.

Like Duff, Raglan is a central defender and the 26-year-old credits his boss with helping him to develop his game in the second half of last season.

Raglan spent the final four months of 2018/19 on loan with Cheltenham from Oxford United and he said: “I’ve come on in leaps and bounds since I’ve worked with him at Cheltenham.

“He’s played at the top level as a defender and he’s very keen on the details. A lot of it is quite logical, simple stuff – your body position, doing things the right way, but it definitely works.”

Raglan played as part of a back three for Cheltenham last season, so does he prefer playing as a trio or being part of a central defensive duo at the heart of a back four?

“If you’d asked me that in January I’d have said playing in a back two,” admitted Raglan. “All my previous experience had been playing as part of a back four.

“But the manager was very clear when I came how he wanted to play and I’ve played on both the right and the left of a back three.

“I definitely did better on the right but I’ve learned a lot and the manager has given me the confidence to play in a new system.

“You have to adapt to new formations and if you ask me which I prefer now I’d say I’m not sure.”

Cheltenham fans of a certain vintage will remember Duff as a rangy right-back when he broke into the team in his late teens in the mid to late 90s.

He successfully converted into a central defender in his early 20s and went on to enjoy a top career with Burnley for more than 10 years, playing well over 300 games for the club including more than 30 in the Premier League against some of the best strikers in the world.

His time at Cheltenham in the late 90s and early noughties coincided with the greatest period in the club’s 130-plus years history and there is renewed optimism among the club’s supporters that further good times could be just around the corner.

Season-ticket sales are up ahead of Duff’s first full season in charge after the club had a very good second half of 2018/19 during which they pulled well clear of the relegation trapdoor, going on to finish 16th.

Their fans will certainly be hoping for a top half finish this time around but while Raglan would love that too he is urging caution.

“The aim is definitely to improve on last season, that’s what we all want,” said Raglan. “We need to improve our away form, that is important.

“But it won’t be easy. There are some big teams coming down, two big teams have come up and quite a lot of clubs have spent a lot of money.

“We need a good start, we’ll see where we are at Christmas, then we’ll have a better idea.”

Cheltenham begin their campaign at promoted Leyton Orient on Saturday 3rd August – Salford City have also been promoted – while the teams relegated from League One were Plymouth, Walsall, Scunthorpe and Bradford.

And while Raglan is understandably cautious about how the season will pan out for Cheltenham, he knows exactly how much the club have done for him during his short time with them.

“I love it,” he said. “I’ve always said how grateful I am for being given the opportunity to play here.

“They are a proper football club. Things are done correctly, the day-to-day business.

“As players we work hard in training and then on a Saturday we try to perform to the best of our ability.”