Exeter's Niskanen 'fittest he has been in career'

Ilmari Niskanen has played 82 games for Exeter City since joining the club in the summer of 2023

Exeter City's Finland international Ilmari Niskanen says he is the fittest he has ever been.

The 27-year-old left-sided player has started both League One games this season and claimed an assist in the 4-1 victory over Blackpool last week.

Niskanen featured in both of his country's World Cup qualifiers in June before commencing his third season at St James Park.

The former Dundee United player says he has high expectations for the coming campaign:

"I want this to be the best season of my career," he told BBC Radio Devon.

"Pre-season personally, and as a team was really, really good.

"I would say this is the fittest I've felt throughout my career so that gives a really good baseline for me and brings a lot of confidence, because obviously running and physical play is such a big part of my game.

"So when those aspects are well I feel really confident and hopefully I'll be a really key player for the team and produce a few good calls and assists on the way as well.

"But of course, at the end of the day, the most important thing is if the team does well, the individuals are more likely to do well as well, so the most important thing is that the team wins games."