Midfielder Zain Westbrooke has said the idea of helping Yeovil Town restore their Football League status was a project which appealed to him.
The 29-year-old was the Glovers’ first signing of a busy summer which has seen 15 new faces arrive at Huish Park and the former Doncaster Rovers man has impressed in the opening three National League fixtures of the campaign.
He was part of the Scunthorpe United side which reached the division’s play-offs last season having reached the League Two play-offs with Doncaster two years before and said he sees a lot of his former club’s ambitions in Somerset.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Richard Hoskins ahead of the trip to Barrow on Friday night, Westbrooke said: “I had chats with Jamie (Hedges, the Glovers’ Head of Recruitment) and the Gaffer (manager Billy Rowley) pretty early on in the summer and I really liked what I was hearing and kept that chat going. I did not really see an opportunity (at another club) which fitted me as much as this one, so I was glad to move.
“The last few clubs I have been at have all been in a process of getting back to where the club feels it should be and this is another one of those projects. Yeovil is a massive club with a big history in the League and the aim is to get the club back there and that was a journey I thought I could be part of.
“There is a lot of quality in the National League and a lot of players I was playing against in the League are here, it is very similar to League Two, there are some teams at the top which are playing football and others that are very aggressive and high pressing. We are trying to create a style of football which represents the Gaffer, the club and one that the fans can enjoy.”
Westbrooke has completed the 90 minutes in all of the Glovers’ three opening fixtures of the new season and already impressed supporters linking up well with the likes of captain Luke McCormick and Brett McGavin in midfield.
He added the quality in the squad will stand them in good stead throughout the season: “I think we have a squad of 22 really good players here who are competing for positions in the team and that competitiveness is a nice thing to have, everyone wants to keep the shirt.”
Having picked up five points in their opening fixtures, Yeovil make the 600-mile round journey to Barrow on Friday night to face a side relegated from League Two back in May, before readying themselves for the visit of Tamworth to Huish Park on Bank Holiday Monday.
Westbrooke admitted the long trip and spending the majority of Friday in a Cumbrian hotel would have an effect on his team-mates as they prepare for a tough test against the Bluebirds, who are celebrating their 125th anniversary this season.
He said: “When we face a side which has had a long journey, we see ourselves as having an edge and with (the game at Barrow) being an evening game, we will have a day in a hotel (on Friday) as well. It is just about getting your mind and body right and being as ready for the game as you can be.
“They are going to want to bounce back (after relegation from the EFL last season) which is never the easiest thing to do, but I am sure the players and staff there will have wanted a good start to the season. It might not have happened for them in the first three games, but a lot can change because when you look at the league table after 10 or 15 games, it can be a lot different.“