Kidderminster manager Mark Yates believes veteran midfielder John Finnigan is “raring to go” after his promising first start for Harriers.

The 33-year-old lined up alongside Dean Bennett in the centre of the park at Grays on Saturday and got 83 minutes under his belt, after two games warming the bench as an unused sub.

Finnigan is tipped for big things after coming to Aggborough from Cheltenham in the summer with 12 years experience as a Football League player, seven of those at Whaddon Road.

Falling out of favour with Robins boss Martin Allen saw a long-drawn out process of a move which hampered the player’s pre-season, but Yates now believes the hard work his former Cheltenham team-mate has put in is working to his advantage.

The manager said: “John was excellent on Saturday. It was always the plan with him to introduce him slowly into the team, we were never going to rush him, because he had not had enough of a pre-season to be considered from the start.

“There has been a lot of things he has been working on and he has been doing a lot of extra work to catch up with the others. We felt it was the right time to introduce him. He was ready, raring to go and so it proved.

“He is a quality player and should be playing at a higher level, we all know that. His pedigree is first class. We are fortunate to have him.”