New striker hoping to continue progressing in the Football League
New signing Ross Lafayette believes he can continue to flourish in the Football League after signing a two-year deal with the Hatters on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old makes the step-up to League 2 with the Town having netted 17 goals for Welling last season, including a delightful curling effort in the meeting between the two sides in April.
His arrival at Kenilworth Road comes 12 months after he’d helped the Wings win promotion from the Conference South and Lafayette is confident that he can keep improving now he’s penned his first professional contract.
“Training full-time means my fitness is going to improve which means I’ll be sharper in and around the box,” the 28-year-old exclusively told Hatters Player.
“It’ll be great to train every day, to work on technique and to be introduced to new and different training methods by the coaching staff. I’m looking forward to the extra 20-30 per cent extra that training full-time will give you.
“That is going to give me confidence, but I’m confident about my ability anyway. I handled the step-up to the Conference [Premier] this season and I think I can next year, too.”
At 28 Lafeyette comes into the pro game later than most. But that isn’t worrying the Town’s newest recruit.
“The fact I’m doing it a bit late only fuels the desire to do well,” says Lafayette. “I know I’ve got to hit the ground running and show people I can play. As I say, I’m confident in my ability, but I’m not aiming to be here for just two years – I want to keep progressing.
“Paul Benson is a fine example of a player arriving into the professional ranks at a later stage, and speaking to John about him gives me plenty of reason to believe that I can flourish further now I’m full-time – after all my legs are still young and they haven’t played professionally yet!
“If I could emulate what Paul’s achieved I’d be very happy but for the moment I’m just looking to earning my place in the team.”
Watch the full interview with Ross now on Hatters Player. Sign-up to Hatters Player today for as little as £4.49 per month or £37.99 for the year. Player will be the only place to listen to online commentary of the Town's fixtures in League 2 next season.
Next week: Ross on turning down Welling and scoring against the Hatters.