Hatswell eager to make impression with Lilywhites

Wayne Hatswell may only have arrived at Oriel Park, but he was put straight to work upon landing in Dundalk as he took charge of team affairs.

Having agreed to link up with the Premier Division club as player/assistant manager he was entrusted with taking the squad through the first day of pre-season training due to manager Ian Foster being unavailable due to his wife having their first child.

So the responsibilty of setting up training drills and assessing the various players hoping to win a contract with the Lilywhites fell to Hatswell, who only last week was playing for Cambridge United in the Blue Square Premier League.

The 34-year-old is looking forward to balancing both his duties as a coach and as a player, but insists his primary aim is to make an impact on the pitch as he is expected to marshal the defence.

"I'm realistic, I need to learn my ways and I've got a lot of attributes that I want to get across. And hopefully things can work out here," Hatswell told the club's official website.

"I want to learn my trade. I want to do it right and then hopefully time will tell when things pop up, but that's years down the line. I'm taking it one step at a time really.

"I want to play first and foremost - that's why I'm here. Doing the other roles is an addition for Foster.

"I felt it was the right opportunity and the right time in my career to look elsewhere and perhaps get a new, fresh challenge that I needed. And to step in that direction of being on the other side of the fence, in a coach and an assistant manager's role."