O'Connor signs to help hometown go up

O’Connor, 37, was most recently with Tamworth and is the club’s third new signing ahead of the campaign, following the arrival of Ollie Clark and Adam Collin.

He said: “I’m delighted to be here at Basford and it’s nice to be able to get it done and dusted. The move nearly happened a couple of times over the last few years, so to finally get it done is great.

“I’m a Basford boy. I’ve spoken to Steve and Chris (Chairman, Munroe) and know fully what they’ve been doing here over the last however many years it’s been and the project that they’re building, so I wanted to jump on board with that and get the club where it wants to go.”

O’Connor started his career at Ilkeston Town before a move to Scunthorpe United in the Football League followed, making three league appearances during his time at Glanford Park.

Spells in non-league, with Nuneaton Borough, Grays Athletic and Gresley Rovers - where he scored 73 times in 99 league appearances - preceded time at Mansfield Town and Rushden & Diamonds, spending two years in Northamptonshire, tallying 24 goals.

He then moved to Luton Town in 2011 and onto Newport County, Forest Green Rovers, Stevenage and joined Kettering Town in 2016, where he scored twice against Basford in an FA Cup Third Qualifying Round tie at Greenwich Avenue a year later.

During his four years with the Poppies, O’Connor scored 59 times in 116 games.

A long-time target for boss Steve Chettle, his signing will go down well with locals of Basford; born just around the corner from where he’ll now call home.

Chettle said: “Aaron has been with us throughout pre-season and we’ve always been aware of his reputation as a goalscorer. He is a player I’ve enquired about in the past, but he’s always been playing at higher levelled clubs.

“I met and spoke with Aaron during the off-season and invited him to do a pre-season with us and it gave him an opportunity to train, with a view to joining us for the upcoming campaign.”