New Glovers defender Stefan Stam believes League One will be tougher than ever this season - but is relishing the challenge.

The Dutchman played in English football's third tier for five seasons with Oldham Athletic before signing for Yeovil this week.

And with former Premier League sides Norwich, Southampton and Charlton joining Leeds in League One for the forthcoming campaign, he's expecting the standard to be higher than ever.

"It's going to be tough for sure," said the 29-year-old. "But I think it's great for League One that there are so many big-name teams in the division.

"It means we will be playing at bigger grounds and in front of bigger crowds and as a professional footballer you want to test yourself at the highest standard possible.

"I've played in League One for a few seasons now and I think this time it will be the hardest yet but I am confident that we can do well."

But while Stam is pleased to be facing a number of former top flight sides over the coming season, he has experience of playing alongside some of the best players in the world during his time in Holland.

The central defender started his career at current Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar and also played with some illustrious names during a spell with PSV Eindhoven.

"I was fortunate enough to be playing with Ruud van Nistelrooy, Mark van Bommel and Andre Ooijer, who's just left Blackburn," said Stam.

"I had to mark van Nistelrooy a few times in training and he really was outstanding. He comes along in the box and his finishing is just deadly.

"I remember a game against Sparta Rotterdam when they had three players marking him - and he ended up scoring five goals anyway!"

We'll have a full interview with Stefan on Glovers World later today.