The Frenchman was in top form as he arrived at the training ground and seemed super-keen to get back to work.
“It’s nice to be back, the weather is good too, so that’s a good thing!” he smiled.
“It’s really nice to be here even though the holiday was good as well. I spent a lot of time with my family, because we don’t get to see them often.
“But every summer after one or two weeks, we feel like we need to get back. I’ve been following the boys on Twitter during my break and keeping in touch.”
Following his short break, the soon-to-be 27-year-old was fully focused on the need to be in top shape for the season ahead.
“We just have to get fit again and to lose the kilos that we put on, but everyone is ready and we can’t wait to be outside,” he said.
“I think this year the main thing is to try and perform as we did last year. Personally, I am going to concentrate on getting fit as that will be the hard part!
“We’ve got two or three weeks to do it. So, I’m ready to suffer a bit with Ivan and the fitness coach.”
Fond memories of May were still fresh for the defender, but he was clear that this season presents a whole new challenge.
“I think it’s good to have the pressure (of being Champions). It’s always good to be at the top, but we have to forget about what we did last year because it’s going to be a new season with new players and new teams and we will have to fight until the end like we did last season. But I think we can do it!” he proclaimed.
“The Champions League will come later on and that will be a big objective for us because last year was a tough group but we felt that we could have done a bit better.”
Although keen to progress in Europe, Clichy believes retaining the title this season is the number one priority.
“I still believe the main objective is the Premier League because that’s what the fans want, but of course the Champions League would be a massive one. We just want to win as many trophies as we can for the fans and the club.
“Hopefully it will be a good year and we can push on from where we left off last season.
