Andy King is expecting Leicester City to be a more potent force in the Championship this season.

The agony of losing in the play-offs last May is now a distant memory and the Welsh international believes better things lie ahead.

"The only target is to try to get promoted," said King. "Everyone involved with the club needs to have that ambition. That is what I want to achieve and I want to play a full part in that.

"We have got a year's experience at Championship level under our belts and I'm sure we will be better for it. This time, though, we must aim to go one better than the play-offs."

City impressed with a 5-1 win in a pre-season friendly at Peterborough on Tuesday and King is happy with the build-up to the big kick-off at Crystal Palace a week on Saturday.

"It is coming together nicely," said the 21-year-old. "Having two months off is nice, but you have to get back in the routine and rhythm of things.

"We produced a really good performance at Peterborough and we should be in good shape come the first game of the season."

Before that is the final warm-up match, against Sunderland at the Walkers Stadium on Saturday.

"It is always nice to play against a team in a league higher than your own," said King. "It takes the pressure off a little bit and allows you to gauge where you are regarding your performance.

"We've a good chance of winning the game but it will be a tough test against an established Premiership side.

"I reckon Martyn Waghorn will be up for it more than most. He did well for us here last season and I'm sure he'll be looking to score. But we've got good players too."

That play-off defeat at Cardiff has now been banished. "No matter what you think about last season, nothing is going to change now," said King.

"If we had won that semi-final, there would have still been another game to go, and we might have lost that. You can't keep thinking about such things and it is time to move on."

City's preparations for the new campaign are being led by a new manager, Paulo Sousa, after Nigel Pearson's surprise departure to Hull.

"Everyone was shocked when Nigel went but, in football, things like that do happen," said King.

"People do move on more quickly than they would do in normal jobs and that's what Nigel has done.

"He's been replaced with a good manager with fresh ideas and I'm sure he will do a good job here.

"You can see the style of football he wants to play. Many people say it is a style of play that needs to be played.

"You look at the World Cup and the way Spain performed. He's a European manager and wants to play that sort of way.

"If we can buy into that and get it right, there is no reason why we can't have another good season. Everyone's been enjoying playing in this new system, whether it is 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. Everyone wants to do their best and get that starting shirt for a week on Saturday."

King has become fully established in the City first-team line-up over the past two seasons, scoring 11 goals in both, and, last term, he shared the players' player-of-the-year award with Jack Hobbs.

Goals are an important part of his make-up and he said: "It is something I always try to bring to my game, to try to score as many as I can. If I can get 10 to 15 again, I'll be delighted."

While King's sights are set high, he knows the competition to get out of the Championship will be tough.

Newcastle and West Bromwich Albion were the star turns last season but, this time, things look more open.

"We haven't got two big teams in there," said King. "But there is almost a blanket of 15 to 18 teams who would think they have a good chance of being in the top six.

"A lot of these teams have played in the Premier League in the last 10 years so it is going to be a tight league and anyone can beat anyone else on their day."