FOREST Green Rovers goalkeeping coach Pat Mountain has expressed his delight after James Montgomery signed for the club on a two year deal.

The stopper signed from Gateshead on Wednesday, having previously spent time training with Mountain at Wolves while playing for part-time Telford.

“James is someone I’ve been aware of for a long time – since he was in the Nike Academy where he worked with Matt Murray, who I know well from Wolves,” said Mountain.

“When he was at Telford three of four years ago he trained with me at Wolves once a week and he held his own there. He’s then gone through to Gateshead and has shown himself to be one of the best at that level.

“He’s got everything we’re looking for in a keeper – he’s got good character and personality and is desperate to prove himself. He’s a perfect fit for us and I think we’re the right club for him to help him take the next step.

“He’s an excellent keeper – he’s agile, athletic, quick and his shot stopping is fantastic. I watched a few of his games live last season and he made some incredible saves. He’s got good distribution, is comfortable with the ball at his feet and has a good range of passing so he suits our style really well.

“There’s definitely room for improvement though and we feel that we can help him kick on at the club.”

Mountain is keen to bring in some competition for 24-year-old Montgomery:

“We’ve had a complete clearing of the decks this summer goalkeeper-wise. Obviously James is a big part of our plans but you need two senior goalkeepers in this division so we’ll be looking to bring another in.

“I like goalkeepers that want to push on and are hungry to work hard and get better – we want them to use us to develop themselves while they're helping us to progress as a team on the pitch.

“James is a young lad but has got a good bit of experience for his age and has played in almost 50 league games - so this is the perfect time for him to make the next step.”