Barnsley's 3 new recruits Paul Hayes Richard Kell and Brian Howard spoke of their delight at joining Andy Ritchie's drive to take Barnsley into the Championship.
Paul Hayes who has been handed a 2 year contract spoke of the delight in moving to a "bigger club"
Talking at the press conference he said:
"It was not a difficult decision at all to leave Scunthorpe as soon as I knew Barnsley were in for me.
"You only have to look around the place to see that this is a great opportunity for me and it was a really easy decision to make.
"Barnsley are a bigger club that Scunthorpe and have the opportunity to push on and achieve something next season. I am really looking forward to working with Andy - he was a striker and hopefully he can really improve my game and made me a better player.
Brian Howard who opted to join the Reds over Bournemouth and who has also signed a 2 year deal said:
"This is a big club with big ambition and the drive is there to achieve big things. Everybody at Barnsley has that ambition and drive to really do something next season.
"We have a great chance to do well and I wanted to be a part of that".
Richard Kell who joins along with Hayes from Scunthorpe has been offered a 4 month contract due to the fact he is recovering from a broken leg. There was a deal in place to sign him in April before his injury.
He is ready for the challenge:
"Take a look around the training facilities and the stadium and you will see just how big a club Barnsley is. This club should be in the Championship at least and we have all come here to achieve that.
"I have spoken at length with the surgeon and the break is healing well. Hopefully I will be able to get off the crutches in a fortnight and start to build up my rehab work. My target is to be back fit for October.
"It is a different type of fracture to last time and it is not the same leg. I should be back stronger. I have to say that I was very upset in the ambulance going home after suffering the break because I thought I had blown my chances of coming here. I am absolutely delighted that Barnsley Football Club stood by me and I cannot wait to start repaying that faith on the pitch.
"I did not think twice about coming to Barnsley. There were things that happened at Scunthorpe last season that I did not really agree with and my mind was always made up to leave this summer. I have come to a bigger and better club and I am sure that we will be challenging next season".
Chairman Gordon Shepherd and manager Andy Ritchie were thrilled at the signings:
Gordon said:
"We agreed a deal for Richard back on April 29 but he was still involved with Scunthorpe's promotion campaign and no announcement was made at the time. We did not want to upset anyone at Scunthorpe.
"Richard is a good player and will regain fitness soon. We have given him what is known as a multiplicity contract which gives him until the end of November to prove his fitness. If he does then the deal would automatically be extended until 2007. If not then he will be free to leave the Club.
"Richard has broken his leg twice in his career but this is because he is the type of player who really gets stuck in and that is the type of lad we need at this football club. He will be a welcome addition to our midfield.
"Brian is a player who we have had watched a lot through the season and who has always done well against us. We liked him a lot and completed the signing two weeks ago but again it mad sense to wait until today and announce all three players. All the deals are subject to medicals and both Brian and Paul will have theirs later today and will be back at the club for pre-season training in July.
"Brian is a left sided player with a great left foot and will be a great addition to our squad".
"Paul has had an excellent season with Scunthorpe and made more than 50 appearances, scoring 19 goals. He is a very young player and we have had to fight off competition from a lot of other clubs to get him here.
"These are the first three signings of the summer and hopefully we will be able to add a couple more before the season starts".
Whilst Ritchie enthused:
"Paul's signing really speaks for itself. He is a proven goalscorer, a young lad and he is going to be an excellent player.
"I am sure that he will be able to reproduce the kind of form he showed last season and will be a big part of our promotion push next season.
"Brian is a great left sided player. Everybody in this game is looking for a talented left winger who is exciting and can cause problems to defences. We have one in Brian and he is a great addition to our squad and will be an integral part of our team next season.
"Richard is a tremendous midfield player at both ends of the field and we cannot wait until he is fit enough to pull on a Barnsley shirt.
"We have had all three players watched time and time again through the season and we have been impressed by all the reports back. That is why we have made our moves and we are all delighted that we have been able to bring them to Oakwell".
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