FORSET GREEN ROVERS have landed their fifth summer signing with the arrival of defender Scott Laird on a two-year contract.

The 29-year-old joins the club following his exit from League One side Scunthorpe United and is another quality addition to a squad at The New Lawn, with the club preparing for its first ever season in the Football League.

A former Scotland youth international, Laird is a left back who has enjoyed notable spells with Stevenage and Preston North End, as well as making 29 appearances in a loan spell last season at League One Walsall.

After beginning his career at Plymouth Argyle he moved permanently to Stevenage following a loan spell and cemented himself as a key part of the Broadhall Way side’s set-up, achieving back-to-back promotions from the Football Conference into League One under the management of Graham Westley.

It would be Westley who would take him permanently to Preston where he was a regular for the Deepdale club in the third tier. 

He helped them earn promotion back to the Championship with a 4-0 play-off final victory at Wembley over a Swindon Town side managed by Mark Cooper.

Commenting on his arrival at FGR, Laird said: “I’m really excited. It’s a great opportunity to be a part of something that can be very special.

"I’m from Somerset so it’s nice to be able to move nearer to home, I haven’t been able to do that for ten years in my football career. It’s great to be a part of something that can really kick on.”

FGR manager, Mark Cooper, added: “He’s a winner, he’s got promotions on his CV and knows the level.

"He’s played against my teams a few times and has always struck me as a very aggressive left sided defender.

"He can get forward, score goals and create, and he can defend as well.

It’s a position that we’ve been looking to strengthen and I think the affinity to the area Scott has got and where he is from has given us a real chance to bring him here.

"He’s a real big signing for us and I think he’ll be fantastic."

Laird comes from a footballing family. His father Craig currently manages Southern Premier Division side Dorchester Town, and his two brothers, Jamie and Craig, also play at a semi-professional level.