Bermudian NFL star Antonio Pierce entered the business end of his off-season with the New York Giants on Saturday full of confidence.

Linebacker Pierce, who left the Washington Redskins as a free agent in a $33m move this spring, entered training camp at the University of Albany this weekend for the final month of preparation ahead of his fifth season in the NFL.

?I?m not nervous about going into training camp with these guys, I?ve been with them for the last four or five months, working out with them and stuff,? said Pierce, who emerged from three years of relatively obscurity last season to earn a spot as a Pro Bowl alternate and make him one of the most sought-after free agents on the market.

?I?m more nervous about getting the season started. I?m going to get ready and I want to get off to a good start.

?You have to pace yourself in training camp, you know. You can?t have your ups and downs. You can?t go out one day and give it your all, and then go out the next and have it be a bust. I just need to have a steady pace.

?I know I got the defence down ? I know the guys on the defensive part. I need to get used to the offence and get familiar with them. This is a season, we?re going to have our ups and downs. We?ll battle through this week, and I think I?ll get to know everyone.?

Pierce, who gave the Redskins a chance to re-sign him before moving to Giants Stadium, has said on many occasions he has no regrets about leaving the club who picked him up as an undrafted free agent from the University of Arizona.

And, following a season where he only started courtesy of a long-term injury to Mike Barrow, Pierce appears to be revelling in his position as a big-money starter in the NFC.

?At least I know I?m getting in,? he said when asked to compare life in New York with his time at the Redskins.

?At least I know I?ll be here from month to month, week to week. At least I know there will be a coach at the end of the season. There is some consistency here.?

And defensive co-ordinator Tim Lewis is already talking about his new ?defensive quarterback? in the same glowing terms Washington couterpart Gregg Williams did last year.

?I?m really excited about watching Antonio develop in this defence,? Lewis said at the pre-training camp Press conference.

?He?s got a lot of talent and I think you guys will see that once you see us get into pads and I think you?ve already seen it in the spring when you were out there a number of times and he?s got a lot of athletic ability and is a very instinctive football player so I?m excited about that.?

Pierce, whose father Cleo and uncle Randy Burrows from Southampton have been regular visitors at the FedEx Field over the past few years, is expected to attract quite a crowd to his matches this season, with dozens of friends and family planning to make the short hop over to watch him do battle in a Giants jersey.