IT is fair to say one-time Liverpool targets and goalscorers from Football League Trophy finals do not normally head Kendal Town’s summer shopping list.

But this close season has been different and currently sitting in the Parkside Road arrivals lounge is a man who holds those very credentials and ticks both boxes.

Danny Coid is the so-called “marquee” signing ahead of the forthcoming campaign and will play Evo-Stik League Division One North football after joining the Kendal ranks last month.

Reportedly watched by Anfield scouts just over a decade ago, the Merseyside-born defender made close to 300 Football League appearances during a full-time career spanning 14 years.

But like most footballers, leaving the professional arena proved a difficult transition with Coid just pleased to back involved in the game he loves so much.

“When footballers leave the sport they find it hard to carry on with normal life and get a job – I sold cars for eight months,” he said.

“I suffered an injury during the last few games of the season while I was at Accrington Stanley, it was a nothing sort of tackle but I thought it had finished me off.

“I knew I needed to get my knee better to see if I could come back to the game part-time and it’s really nice to be back.

“Kendal came onto my radar through Danny Mitchley who I’ve kept in touch with since our time together at Blackpool and he had a word with Steve Edmondson who invited me up here.

“I was talking to a number of different clubs but when you’re getting on a bit you just want to be comfortable and happy.

“The first time I came up and spoke to Steve he made me feel so welcome, got me a steak after doing a bit of running and I just felt wanted and at home.”

Coid started his career with Blackpool in 1995, making 263 appearances and scoring ten goals, before a brief loan spell with Rotherham United in 2010 preceded a spell at the Crown Ground.

He was part of Bloomfield Road squads that won promotion from the Football League’s lowest rung to the top table inside ten years, while also lifting the Football League Trophy twice in three seasons.

But despite his Blackpool career ending in slightly tarnished fashion, the 31-year-old looks back on his time on the Fylde coast with great fondness.

“I have a lot of good memories from my time there that will stay with me forever,” he added.

“I could have moved on but when I look back I’m happy with the career I have had and proud to have been part of Blackpool Football Club for a number of years.

“The best moments were probably breaking into the first-team, making my debut and scoring against Southend United at the Millennium Stadium.

“And to be a part of the promotion squad when we went up from the Championship was great although I would have loved to be involved more but injuries prevented that.

“After we won promotion at Wembley, I was told I was surplus to requirements and no longer needed but couldn’t come to an agreement to get paid up.

“So I was named in the 25-man squad for the first half of the Premier League season but it didn’t really mean too much to me, in the end I just wanted to get out of there.”

Coid was frozen out and only pulled on a tangerine shirt once during the club’s time in the Premier League and that was for a low-key second round Carling Cup defeat at MK Dons.

Yet he has nothing but respect for then manager Ian Holloway, who has since guided Crystal Palace to the promised land via the Championship play-offs.

And having played under a number of managers during his career, including Gary Megson, Colin Hendry and Simon Grayson, Coid holds one man in particular in high regard.

“I would never take anything away from Holloway, he was a fantastic manager even though I feel I should have been treated a little fairer and been given more of a chance,” he said.

“I wasn’t playing at that time but I still thought he was a great manager, his tactics and team talks were amazing.

“Nigel Worthington gave me an opportunity and I thought the world of him, he was a top manager, especially with the young lads.

“He used to take time out and stay behind to coach the youngsters, trying to develop them. I owe a lot to Nigel and Steve McMahon as well.”

But rather than living in the past, Coid is looking forward to his first taste of competitive non-league action this weekend as the starting pistol for the new campaign is fired.

In the spirit of new beginnings, there has been a fresh addition to the Coid household this week, with wife Louise giving birth the couple’s second child, Max.

And after getting to grips with his new surroundings, the newly-installed Mintcakes skipper sees no reason why Kendal cannot be challenging towards the division’s summit come April.

“We’ve got a good group of lads here and the standard of our team is better than I thought it was going to be,” he added.

“You can never predict how the season is going to pan out but I feel we have a good enough squad to make the play-offs but we’ll see how it goes.

“When Holloway came to Blackpool he said we would get promoted and everyone laughed, but we did it. You just never know what lies ahead.

“But we have talented lads here and a lot of belief so we should stand a good chance.”