Striker says he was intrigued by Adam Murray’s vision for the club.
New signing Chris Beardsley says the way that manager Adam Murray sold him his future plans for the football club was a significant factor in making the move back to One Call Stadium.
The 31-year-old started his career with us in the academy ranks more than a decade ago, before spending a further two years at the club in the mid-2000s.
In recent years, the frontman, who has nearly 350 appearances to his name, has played a key role in Stevenage’s success, whilst also spending time at Preston North End.
Explaining how his move back to North Nottinghamshire materialised, Beardsley couldn’t hide his excitement at what the club has to offer moving forward.
“It [the move] was sort of completely out of the blue,” said the frontman. “I spoke to the gaffer this summer and we had a good chat.
“He’s told me his plans, what he thinks of the whole club, the structure of the squad, my part in it and the future moving forward. He impressed me hugely with his plans and he’s actually got an idea of what he wants and how he wants to implement it.
“When you go and speak to some managers, they just say ‘We’ll see how it goes’ but the gaffer here has got a big plan. Speaking to him, he sold me his plan and the club.”
Beardsley continued: “He’s a football man. He’s been playing for so many years up and down the league at different clubs and he knows all about it. He intrigued me with the long-term plan.”
Asked how he’d changed since his last spell at the club, the 31-year-old joked: “Well it’s been eight-and-a-half years and I’ve started losing my hair a little bit.
“I’m now a father so I’ve got different responsibilities and I’ve matured on and off the pitch too.”
Discussing his current playing style compared to his last spell with us, the Derby-born forward said: “I suppose with the older you get you hone in on your strengths and you try and play to them. Sometimes as a youngster, you try and do everything, but a lot of the time you end up doing nothing.
“As you get older you become more assured of yourself. You know what you bring to the team and more importantly, what you bring to the squad, which means you’re more comfortable with it.”
Having played a significant number of games in Sky Bet League Two, the forward believes that could prove to be an advantage in 2015/16.
“When you’ve been at a level [for a while] and you know your players and know your opponents, then you often know what you’re coming up against,” added Beardsley, who has played for Stevenage and Bristol Rovers at this level in recent years.
“I’ve been in and around the top of this league and I know what it takes to get there and get out of this league. At this age, it’s down to me to give that to the squad and the younger players. Hopefully, that will benefit them.”
