STOKE CITY hit the road again this weekend in their tough pre-season build-up . . . with defender Robert Huth admitting that he can't wait for the real action to start in the Barclays Premier League curtain-raiser against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

As Huth and his team-mates prepare to take on Burnley at Huddersfield Town's Galpharm Stadium, the big kick-off at Molineux is a fortnight away now.

But for the big German international, that Premier League opener can't come soon enough, if only so the players can get back to some form of normality.

"We all know that pre-season is going to be tough and that we will feel the benefit of working so hard on our fitness," he commented. "We've even had three sessions a day on a number of occasions and it was particularly tough in the hills in Austria.

"Hopefully though, once the season gets underway, we will come back down to one training session a day because we're looking good as far as fitness is concerned.

"It's at this point that you just want the season to start because you get tired of so much training. The quicker the new season comes now, the better."

After trips to Notts County, Newcastle Town and Derby County, the Potters now head for the Galpharm Stadium to take on a Burnley side relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season and eager to bounce back at the first attempt.

"This will be a good test for us, but building up our fitness is the priority at this stage as we aim to be ready for the Wolves," added the 25-year-old defender.

"It's so important that we start the season well and hopefully we can put in a better performance at Molineux than we did last season. I don't think we can have a worse one than the match there in April and we will be looking to pick up some points."