United boss Paul Simpson gave us his thoughts on summer signing number four, Sam Lavelle.
“I think this is a good signing for us,” he said. “It’s one that we’ve been working away at for weeks to be honest, and I’ve left that number five slot open for this particular reason.
“I’m delighted that we’ve eventually got it over the line. He made it clear that he wanted to come here but he had a few things he needed to get tidied up with Charlton.
“He’s a player with League One experience, he has a lot of games under his belt and that’s with him still being relatively young. He’s another who has a load of developing still to do and he certainly ticks the boxes of what we’re trying to bring into our club.”
With him having captained Morecambe to play-off success in League Two, the gaffer said: “That’s because he’s just a natural leader.
“He has that sort of personality and the first time I called Dean Holden to talk about him, I was actually on holiday in Portugal.
“He didn’t answer straight away, so when he did he caught me as I was walking round the supermarket.
“That’s how these things are sometimes. He spoke really highly about him and one of the main things he said was that he’s a player who is able to lead.
“He said that he’s a lad with great character who just didn’t fit in with his plans at this time. He then told me that if we could get him we’d be getting a real good sort.
“I’m hoping that on top of that the football will take care of itself because of his ability. I’m looking forward to seeing him slot into our group and I think he’ll be a signing that our fans will be really pleased to see.”
“He’s more than the traditional type of defender, he has a bit more to his game,” he continued. “He’ll go straight into the group for the Friday night friendly at Annan.
“He’ll have that number five shirt on and it’ll be good to see him slot in and play beside those we already have here.
“We’re now in a position where I’m comfortable with the defenders in terms of the central areas, but there’s still one wing back slot that needs to be filled. I’m hoping that will happen very soon.
“We have a medical booked for another player which I’m hoping we can get over the line. We’ll just have to wait and see on that one.
“We know from experience earlier this week that it’s not always that straightforward. We’ll keep working away, and there are still a couple of other areas that are short and where we need to be strengthened.
“All I can repeat is that we need to try to be patient and not get too panicky about it as we work to get the right additions in.”
“The addition of Sam immediately adds to that sense of competition,” he concluded. “That’s what we have to have.
“Because of the way we set up last season I always knew that we’d need a good selection of centre backs and Sam helps us to get that again when you think of who we’ve already got with the likes of Mellish, Whelan, Huntington and Barclay.
“We’ve got some really good options and all of them played a part last year, obviously when Morgan was also here. I’m quite sure they’ll all play a part this season as well.”