Northampton Town manager Keith Curle admitted he had to be both patient and determined to fight off other interest in defender Charlie Goode.
Goode signed a three year contract with the club this week, arriving from Scunthorpe United for an undisclosed fee, and Curle admitted it had been a lengthy pursuit of the former loanee.
"Signing Charlie has taken a bit of time," he said.
"He had offers from some League 1 clubs, some good League 1 clubs at that, and it took a while. That's not because Charlie didn't want to come, that because a lot of clubs identified the potential Charlie has.
"What I said to Charlie was that he needs to be at the right club, the sort of club who understand his strengths and attributes as a player and as a person and we think he is an excellent fit for us.
"Our plan is to grow and keep growing. The club will outgrow some players but some will grow with us and that is what we want.
"Some others might decide, as we continue to grow, that they won't get the game time here they need and they might be better suited elsewhere. That's understandable but we won't stand still."