REDDITCH United have bolstered their squad with the signing of experienced winger Tom Winters.

Winters joins the Reds ahead of the Evo-Stik Southern League Central Division opener against Rushden and Diamonds on Saturday (3pm kick-off).

The 32-year-old adds invaluable Football League and non-league experience to Paul Davis’s squad, following spells at Oxford United, Oxford City, Brackley Town and Banbury United, and the Reds’ boss explained what else the midfielder will bring to The Trico Stadium.

He said: "We have a young first-team squad, so bringing in someone of Tom’s guile will help those inexperienced players through what will be a long and challenging season ahead. More than his experience, though, is his ability in terms of goalscoring and creating goals and chances – he will be a significant player for Redditch United this season.”

The Reds’ pre-season campaign came to an end last Saturday, losing 3-1 to Welsh top-flight side Barry Town United – Shaquille Whittingham scoring the solitary goal.

Davis believes his young side matched their opponents until a raft of second-half substitutions disrupted the flow of the contest, but the gaffer admitted his frustration at not being able to name his strongest side throughout pre-season; nevertheless, he is looking forward to the season finally getting underway.

“I felt it was a tight game for an hour, and we applied ourselves well for an hour until changes were made. When a host of changes are made during a game, they have the potential to disrupt the flow of the match, but members of the squad gained more valuable minutes.

“I am frustrated that I’ve not been able to put out my strongest XI throughout pre-season, whether that be through injuries or unavailability, but I won’t make any excuses, because Saturday is when it really counts, and I hope we can come away from AFC Rushden & Diamonds with three points.”