THE boss has been working tirelessly during the summer to put his own stamp on proceedings, ready to begin his first full season in the hot seat.
Speaking at Palmerston this week, Bartley said: “We’ve got a lot of players to look at. We’ve brought a lot of players in and we’ll bring more in.
“It’s a good group to come into. It’s a group that finished the season really strongly. There are some good professionals within the group as well which helps.
“The new boys have gelled really well and that will only get better.
“Gelling together takes time. But looking at it from the start, they look like they’ve fitted in straight away.
“We’ve got a budget to work to. I’ve got a number of players that I want to work with and at this moment in time we’re short of that.
“So we’ll get up to that, but it’s not about rushing it. It’s about being patient and I’m more than happy with the way our transfer business has gone so far.
“It’s not just about being good footballers; it’s about being good professionals.”
The squad were getting to grips with the brand new pitch at Palmerston during training over the past few days.
And since checking in to get pre-season underway the manager has been happy with what he has witnessed so far.
Bartley added: “It’s been a tough couple of days for them (the players). Being able to be on the new pitch is massive for us, so it was important that we came down.
“The boys have embraced it, they know what I’m about, the ones that were here before and the ones that I’ve brought in.
“I met with every single one of them, so there’s no surprises to them about what I’m going to expect and how we’re going to go about our business. It’s been good.”
Bartley had set his players a target of coming back in good shape ahead of pre-season or face an extra week of running and off ball work.
He said: “A high percentage passed and for the ones who didn’t we stuck to our words – if you don’t pass then you’re going to be in.
“There was a couple that were in, but they’ve got up to speed very quickly.
“It wasn’t a surprise to anybody. I laid out the law of how we were going to go about our business at the back end of last season.”
The Doonhamers return to match action this Saturday with a trip to K-Park to face Lowland League side East Kilbride.
Bartley is looking forward to the game but insists that friendlies mean nothing and being ready for the first League Cup match at home to Motherwell on July 18 is what matters most.
He said: “We’re all in football to play matches.
“It’s about coming through injury free. We’ll work on patterns of play.
“I’ll be out on my pro licence, Grant (Murray) will be taking the team. In terms of results, friendlies mean nothing. You can go through the whole of pre-season and win every single game and concede no goals and then the season starts and you’re not up to scratch.
“The important thing for me is the League Cup game on the 18th (of July).
“We get through those games and then it’s about the league, but friendlies mean nothing.
“I’ve looked a world-beater in friendlies and then first game of the season I’ve been absolutely terrible.”
