Grays Athletic boss backs new signing David Knight

TOGETHER AT LAST: David Knight has signed for Jim Cooper

JIM COOPER has got his man in David Knight – and he's backed him to fire to the Isthmian North title next season.

Boss Cooper fought off stiff competition to sign the prolific striker from rivals earlier this week.

Knight, who scored 43 goals in all competitions as he claimed the Golden Boot during his spell with in 2018-19, will reunite with Cooper for a second time after enjoying success at Met Police.

And the boss believes the acquisition of Knight emphasises Grays are gunning for silverware in the upcoming campaign.

“Bringing David in is most definitely a statement of intent,” said Cooper, who spent 15 years at the Met Police helm. “I have been trying to sign David for the last six years and it's fantastic to have finally managed to get him through the door.

“He was much sought after, so I'm absolutely delighted that David chose to join us and is clearly excited by what we are trying to build here.”

Grays Athletic

Cooper feels Knight, who counts the likes of among his former clubs, is capable of single-handedly clinching the title thanks to his potency in front of goal.

“David is about scoring goals,” added Cooper.

“He is a selfish type of striker in that he wants to score as many goals as possible but I see that as a positive.

“The amount of goals he scores means he can win a title on his own and that's why it was so important for us to secure David's signing ahead of some of our rivals.

“We want to challenge for honours in the forthcoming season and being able to call on someone like David could make all the difference.”

Cooper has also boosted his attacking options by welcoming Danny Gould, a 23-year-old who featured for Histon more than 150 times after coming through the ranks at , to Parkside.

Since taking over as Grays boss in February 2019, Cooper has made no secret of the fact that winning promotion is his main target.

Drive

But he has been frustrated in his mission with the last two campaigns curtailed due to the pandemic.

Now Cooper is eager to get back in the hot seat after revealing his initially had doubts as to whether he wanted to remain in management during the enforced break.

“There was a period where I was questioning whether I had lost the drive and passion for being involved in as a manager,” he told.

“But, after overcoming those doubts, I cannot wait to get going again.

“I still haven't technically had a full season in charge of Grays, which seems strange because of being here for more than two years, but that has been out of our control.

“We're focused on the here and now, with the target being to bring success back to the football club.

“I have got the players starting pre-season training tomorrow because of not playing since October and we want to hit the ground running.”

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