Ross Draper became the latest member of the Macclesfield Town squad when he arrived at the Moss Rose to put pen to paper on his contract today. We grabbed a quick word with him to find out a little more about his career to date what we can expect from him over the coming weeks and months.

Welcome to Macclesfield, pleased to be here?

"Definitely. I've always wanted to return to full time football and the Football League in particular. Whilst I enjoyed my time at Hednesford it was only part time so you have to have another job. I was working for a mortgage agency and only playing the football at the weekends. So for me it wasn't a hard decision.

"I'd had interest from Conference clubs but I really wanted the opportunity to be in the Football League. That's been the dream since I left Shrewsbury. I'd spoken to the gaffer before I went away and he sold the club to me. He told me who he was planning on bringing in and I couldn't wait to get back. I'm told there was talk that I had already signed up last week, but I actually cut my holiday short so I could get back from Aya Napa at the weekend, sign up and get back into training again."

You left Shrewsbury and went to Stafford and went straight into the side at 17.

"I got there and the manager at the time, Phil Robinson waited until after the first 10 games or so before he put me into the side. He wanted to see how I was settling in and wanted to bring me in slowly but when I got into the side I dealt with it well and held my own in that League so was able to make a lot of appearances for them. It was a great education at a young age,"

Then you moved on to Hednesford. Tough decision to take a step down?

"It was quite a tough choice to do that but Stafford's financial situation meant that they couldn't offer me a contract. But it was a real honour to be given the captaincy of Hednesford at 19. It was quite a young squad there but there were a lot of players older than me. So it was a little bit strange but we got on with it and I think I performed well in the role.

"It was a very tough season physically. At that level you play in a few cups as well as the League so I was playing more than 50 games by the end of the season. I think playing all those games and the fitness I had to have to do that will help me bridge the gap between semi-pro and professional football."

First day in training today?

"Yes. It was the first day for me today, so I've got to meet all the lads and see the training ground. The chairman has told me about the plans for it and it's going to be really excellent.

"This is going to be my first season as a full professional so I'm just hoping to settle in and establish myself. The main target this season is first-team football. Goals and the like will hopefully come later. But I want to play as much football as I can."

So what can the Macclesfield supporters expect from you?

"I like to cover a lot of ground and work hard. I chipped in with a few goals last season which probably surprised a few people and it's something I'll want to do again this year. I love tackling and it's a big part of my game and something I think I'm good at. I like to get box-to-box and try and get involved with the attacks up at the other end but still getting back to break up play and make saving tackles whenever I can."

Do you want to sponsor Ross' kit? Contact Penny on 01625 264686 for full availability.