Dzeko settled in Rome as he looks to push on again next season

The striker admitted that Tuesday – which saw the entire squad undergo extensive physical tests – had been particularly trying, but he knows that the hard work now will pay off once the new season gets underway.

“Yesterday was definitely tough. But it was my third such test, so I knew what to expect. And it’s nothing that we can’t cope with,” Dzeko told Roma TV.

“It depends on the coach on the type of pre-season we have. Some coaches obviously want you to do a lot more running. I remember when I was at Wolfsburg, I was 21, and the training under Felix Magath was incredibly tough. But, two years later, we won the title. So everything you do now is important.”

Heading into his fourth season with the Giallorossi, Dzeko admitted that he feels very at ease in the Italian capital.

“I feel very good here,” he said. “This was put of the reason I stayed in January, when what happened, happened. But I have a wife, I have kids, and at the moment all of them are very happy here.

“So I’m happy, and also because, even if we did not win anything last season, I think we had a great campaign – especially in the Champions League – and hopefully we can do something even better this season.”

On the new season, he added: “We have players with great ability. All of us can play with the ball – which is what the coach wants. Even the defenders are good with the ball. All the players the sporting director has brought in definitely have real talent.

“We don’t have to worry about what others are doing, we just have to focus on ourselves and make sure we put in 100% out there on the pitch.”

While winning something at the club remains top of the agenda, Dzeko was keen to stress the need not to try and place any expectations on the squad.

“Certainly, you know at Roma we always think too far ahead,” he noted. “We can’t do that. As I said before, we have bought some great players.

“The market is not closed yet, so we will have to see, but we have three important competitions, a lot of players competing for spots, and the coach is trying to give us the right mentality.

“We have to make sure we start the season well, and then from there we can see what we are able to do at the end.”

Dzeko kicked off pre-season on Saturday with two goals against Latina in a 9-0 win – including a clever finish with his supposedly weaker left foot.

The finish was reminiscent of some incredible goals he scored last season – most notably against away to Chelsea and Napoli.

“Obviously, the goal I scored against Chelsea was the most beautiful – it was in the Champions League, and everything else that comes with that,” Dzeko said.

“But for me the other goals I scored during the season, against Benevento, for example, were equally important.”

On his ability with his left foot, he added: “When I was young, when I was starting out, I was a right-footer and I could shoot – or at least, I arrogantly thought I could shoot - but with the left I really couldn’t.

"So I said to myself, ‘Okay, every training session I will spend a little time after working on my left foot’. And then, little by little, I got better.”