Hibbert wants to be a favourite
New striker David Hibbert has pledged to repay the faith of manager Gary Peters by establishing himself as an immediate first-team regular at Shrewsbury. New striker David Hibbert has pledged to repay the faith of manager Gary Peters by establishing himself as an immediate first-team regular at Shrewsbury. The 21-year-old joined for a "nominal" fee from Preston North End yesterday, signing a three year contract with Town. After spending a decade at Port Vale as a youngster, Hibbert was snapped up by the Championship outfit boss Billy Davies two seasons ago. Read the full story in today's Shropshire Star
After spending a decade at Port Vale as a youngster, Hibbert was snapped up by the Championship outfit boss Billy Davies two seasons ago.
But the arrival of Paul Simpson at Deepdale limited the forward's chances of a first-team breakthrough and he spent last season on loan at Rotherham and Bradford.
Hibbert believes he has become stronger for that experience - and is now determined to prove his worth to Shrewsbury supporters.
"There was interest from elsewhere but Shrewsbury was the only club I really wanted to sign for when I had spoken to Gary," said the Eccleshall-based forward.
"I was aware he was at quite a few games I was involved in last season and I want to do well for the gaffer as well as I myself and the team.
"I am a 6ft 2ins striker so I like to win my fair share in the air and I guarantee I will work as hard as I can in every game. I'm confident I can score goals at this level so hopefully I can force my way into the team and stay there."
Hibbert is looking forward to the stability of a three-year contract after an uncertain last 12 months.
"When Billy Davies took me to Preston I was getting a few starts and some games from the bench," he added.
"Then he moved on to bigger things and Paul Simpson came in. He was under a lot of pressure to do well after Billy and he probably didn't gambling by using the kids because of that, which was fair enough."
"But it's good to be able to look forward to something long-term at Shrewsbury. I spoke to Gary about his plans for the club, looked at the new stadium and watched the play-offs.
"It's certainly a club going places and I'm delighted to be part of that."
Town secretary John Howarth, fresh from the Football League AGM in the Algarve, today confirmed he will unveil the club's pre-season friendly list shortly after experiencing problems arranging the visit of Manchester City which formed part of the Joe Hart sale 12 months ago.
By James Garrison