The scrum-half brings a natural confidence strengthened further after four successful seasons down south and Glasgow supporters will be hopeful it rubs off on the rest of the squad.
"It's a very, very tight-knit squad," said Mark in the Scotland on Sunday, "a very close group of players, a lot of whom grew up together. I've known some of these guys since I was eight years old; guys like Colin Shaw, Stevie Swindall and Fergus Thomson. The team are tight, they work hard for each other and were buoyed up by the end-of-season success last year finishing on a positive note. The intention is to start the season the same way. There is a real expectation on the guys to do well this year.
"Glasgow had a good home record last season. They beat everyone in the league, had a real solid home record. Now we have the belief and the expectation to say that there's no-one in this league that we need fear and we can go away and win on the road. We are a good enough squad and most of the guys have been together long enough that there is no reason we can't take our home record on the road."
The Warriors captain and head coach have already seen the impact Mark has made on the squad. Alastair Kellock told the Sunday Herald: "He is a great guy, a great leader. He is not the kind of guy who needs to come in and find his feet, he is straight in there. He knows the game, knows what he has to do to play well and has done it."
Head coach Sean Lineen is equally enthusiastic in his assessment of his scum-half's abilities: "Mark has been brilliant, absolutely brilliant. A good communicator, really proud, with a good spirit. There is no question he is what we need. He will give the forwards a good kick up the backside when they need it, he is a threat around the fringe, he has a good pass, organises well. Fantastic, he is what we need."