James Constable has vowed to get himself in the “shape of his life” as he attempts to establish himself as Shrewsbury Town’s No 1 striker.

Constable arrived from Kidderminster for a substantial undisclosed fee at the end of January and found the net four times, including an explosive brace against MK Dons in the 3-3 home draw with the eventual champions.

But he enjoyed just seven starts since his switch, and is hoping to become a more regular fixture in the Town line-up in his first full season at Oteley Road.

“The last few months of last season were a bit mad for me,” said the 23-year-old.

“I had only been here a few weeks and there was a change of manager and then I had a couple of niggly injuries so it was a case of just trying to get through training and games until the end of the season.

“You always want to play more games and that’s the aim for next season because there’s a lot more to come.

“I want to be in the best shape of my life when I come back and I have already started building up my fitness, even though our personal programmes don’t start for a couple of weeks.

“I’m just going to build things up because I want to hit the ground running when we go back for pre-season.

“I’m never happy with myself if I’m not playing games and scoring goals.

“And if you’re doing that, it’s hard to leave you out, so that has to be the target and what everyone will be working towards.”

Manager Paul Simpson has spoken of his desire to strengthen the “spine” of his squad, with a striker likely to be amongst his targets.

And, despite the extra competition for places that will bring, Constable insists he would welcome the battle for starting shirts.

“That can only be of benefit because it brings the best out of all the players,” the forward added.