Not only did manager Ian Evatt get someone in that he knows very well when he signed defender Sam Hird last week, but also a player that he’d been after for some time.

Hird, 31, arrived at Holker Street on an initial deal that runs until the end of the season from Alfreton Town, having made almost 400 Football League appearances during his career.

Over half of those came at Chesterfield, where he spent five seasons playing alongside Evatt in the centre of defence before being released by the Spireites during last summer

Evatt said: “I know him really and he’s a very, very good player. We identified as someone we wanted in the summer, but obviously he had aspirations of staying in the Football League.

“He’s played in the Championship and League One, he’s only 31 years old, he’s got a good pedigree and I can’t begrudge him for having those aspirations for playing in the League, so it made it difficult for us to sign him in the summer.

“Obviously, at the end of the window, when nothing had materialised, he was a free agent and went to Alfreton for some games and had a tiny issue with his meniscus, which has now been fixed.

“We’ve beat a couple of other National League teams who were keen to sign him and I’m sure once you see him play, and he’s fully-fit and ready, you’ll realise what a good player he is. He’s going to make us stronger.”