Boro boss Graham Westley believes new signing Chris Beardsley can make a real name for himself at The Lamex Stadium this season. Eyebrows were raised when Westley swooped for the striker, who was recently released by Kettering but, having worked with h

Boro boss Graham Westley believes new signing Chris Beardsley can "make a real name for himself" at The Lamex Stadium this season.

Eyebrows were raised when Westley swooped for the striker, who was recently released by Kettering but, having worked with him at Rushden and Diamonds, the Boro chief believes he can harness the player's raw potential to Boro's benefit.

"It's a funny one because if you look at his record then you can see that he was a bit-part player at Kettering last season," Westley told The Comet. "I think he was unfortunate to be behind (Gareth) Seddon at Kettering, who is a very good striker and someone that I rate very highly.

"But I had Chris at Rushden and he is one of the hardest working players that I've ever come across.

"He is someone that I can see linking really well with the likes of Yemi (Odubade) and Mitchell (Cole) and I also think if you were to play him alongside Charlie Griffin then they could both prove quite a handful."

Westley has told Beardsley he is looking for the 25-year-old to add more pace to his game and the club has already arranged for him to attend the speed clinic that added another dimension to Steve Morison's game last season.

"He could do with gaining a yard of pace but we're sending him to the same clinic that did such a good job with improving Steve Morison's speed," added the Boro boss.

"It would not surprise me to see Chris go on to make a real name for himself with us.