The defender was a frustrated onlooker for the final two pre-season games thanks to a slight thigh twinge that he is confident will be shaken off for Saturday.
Assessing the prospect of the short trip into east Lancashire for the curtain-raiser, Nedum declared:
“We just want to get started. This year we will be very well equipped to be successful, so it’s frustrating to play so many games before you really start.
“I’m really excited for this season, all the squad are because there has not been a time recently where there has been so much attention on Manchester City. It will be good to see how we handle it.”
The new campaign starts away from home, and the 22-year-old is keen to lay to rest one of the bugbears of 2008/09. Namely, that City won just two league games on the road, a factor that he thinks was ultimately decisive in the quest for more European football.
“Our away form has been addressed. It was not as good as it should have been last season, and considering how close we came to qualifying for the Europa League, well, two more away wins could have seen us in there. We know how important it is, away form can define your position in the league.
“You need a different mentality. There is a way you can play at home, but most teams will change their style to get a result away. Last season, Chelsea ground teams down away from home and scored just the odd goal, and were more than happy with that.
“Maybe at times we tried to be too attacking on the road, it’s more to do with your mentality than just tactics.
“Going to Blackburn is tough, to see how we do later in the season then this is a good way to introduce us to away games. Blackburn are similar to a lot of teams we will play away so it will be a good test.”
The visit to Blackburn is followed by games at home to Wolves, then away to Portsmouth before the next international break. Does Nedum, like some pundits, see this as an easy start?
“There’s no such thing! There’s a long way to come down if you don’t win those games.”
