Arguably Stevenage’s signing of the summer, midfielder Dean Parrett is delighted to be back at a club that means a lot to him.

The 27-year-old returned to the Lamex from Gillingham after four years away, with fans hailing his arrival.

Parrett revealed that he had the chance to move elsewhere, but his history with the club and a conversation with Boro boss Dino Maamria made up his mind.

"It's nice to be back to see the old faces around the club, get back out on the pitch and get to know the new boys," he told CometSport.

"I had a couple of things in the pipeline, but I think it was important for me to go somewhere and play games.

"I've had a few injuries and not played as much as I wanted to because of other reasons in the past few seasons.

"I had a great chat with Dino and obviously the history I've got with the club was a huge part of me coming back."

Maamria is a familiar face for Parrett, having been assistant manager to Graham Westley during the midfielder's first spell at the Lamex.

"It's really good to have him as boss, although I need to remember to call him gaffer and not Dino," he joked.

"I've got a really good relationship with him and I'm sure he'll get the best out of me."

A return to Stevenage is also an emotional one for Parrett, who explained: "This club is massive for not only myself but my family as well. They made us feel so welcome when I first came.

"After I left Tottenham I struggled to get a club for the first few months and Stevenage took a chance on me to get back into football.

"I owe a lot to everyone around the place and I really enjoyed my time here.

"I did my knee in the first season and they stuck by me so I have a lot of respect for the club."

The standout moment of Parrett's first spell was a wonder goal in the first-leg of the 2015 play-off semi-final against Southend, and he hopes Boro will have another crack at promotion this season.

"It's early stages but we want to go up, we want to get promoted," he said.

"Every team wants to, but there's a real belief in there that we can. We have good players, I've not been back long but I can see the quality we have and there's the winning mentality."