James still has plenty of targets despite achieving a lot since switch to Saints

But he insists there is still plenty more targets to be hit as he looks to help the black, green and gold back up their Gallagher Premiership title success from last season.

James has become a key cog in the Saints wheel in recent times, ensuring Alex Mitchell has real competition for the No.9 shirt.

The 30-year-old has racked up 80 appearances, scoring 16 tries in the process.

And when asked whether he could have envisaged enjoying such a strong Saints career when he made the move four years ago, James said: "Not really.

"Obviously coming from the Championship is quite a tough thing to do. There's not many players who manage to do it and have a lot of longevity with it.

"Sometimes you have to stand back and have a bit of perspective to say 'I'm proud to still be here and play as many games as I have'.

"But the job's not finished, I'm enjoying my rugby and I've still got quite a few goals I haven't quite achieved yet."

This season, Mitchell and James have youngsters such as Archie McParland and Jake Garside snapping at their heels at scrum-half.

And James said: "It's always really good to have competition and it's something Saints have done really well with the nine position - there's always been a bit of a fight for the shirt.

"I feel like we've got a really good group at the moment, with Mitch, myself, Arch, Jonny (Weimann) and Jakey (Garside) as well."

James started last Friday night as Saints wrapped up their two-match pre-season campaign with a 36-17 victory against Bedford Blues at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.

It was a welcome win following the defeat to Leinster six days earlier.

And when asked to reflect on how preparations for the new campaign have gone, James said: "It's been fun.

"It was obviously a bit of a strange one, coming back in after we won the title, but I've really enjoyed it.

"We've had some good lads join the group and it's been good."

Saints are now desperate to defend their title this season.

"We had an amazing few days after winning the title and it was amazing coming back in as the current champions but in the first few days of pre-season we spoke about that being very much last year's group," James said.

"It's down to us now to build a bit of a legacy.

"This is a different group and we've got a different mindset."

Saints' fresh group will start competitive life against the side last season's crop beat in the Premiership final in June.

Bath will provide a big challenge in the season opener at The Rec on Friday night.

And James said: "It's an awesome test and it will show us where we are.

"It's a repeat of the final and we've had our sights set on it for quite a while now.

"We're really looking forward to it."

So what will Saints' mindset be heading to Bath?

Are the going there with the swagger of champions or viewing themselves as underdogs?

"You obviously have to reset and realise it's a new season but we're still focused very much on us," James said.

"Bath at The Rec is always a tough place to go but we're full of confidence and we're focused on ourselves.

"We speak about it all the time and if we're at more than a six or seven out of 10, we can beat every team in the league.

"It's just about focusing on how we can get to that."