NEW signing Darran Kempson has already begun settling into his new surroundings and is certainly looking forward to a first appearance with the club against Blackpool tomorrow (3.00).

"I'm just starting to get to know the other lads," said the centre half. "And it's great that we have a game so quickly.

"Blackpool are a championship side, so this will be another chance to see how the squad is starting to come together.

"While it's still early days, last Saturday's win over Wolves will have surprised a few people and I can tell already that the lads here want to make sure we maintain that sort of standard."

Leaving Shrewsbury and stepping into the Conference must have taken some consideration, especially with a year still left on his contract at the New Stadium.

"I knew Wrexham were interested in signing me several weeks ago," he said. "But, to be fair, my first aim was to continue playing in the Football League.

"The new manager at Shrewsbury had made some changes, brought in a couple of new defenders, so I realised that my chances would be limited.

"Even though I had 12 months left on my contract, I wanted to be playing on a regular basis and there were a few offers for me to consider.

"To be honest, after talking to the gaffer, this was my best option and I was pleased to grab it."

Darran played for Shrewsbury against the Dragons in our ill-fated visit to the New Stadium last April.

"Actually I thought Wrexham got off to a good start that day, but you could see that confidence was low when we went in front," he said.

"But this is a big club and I'm excited at the prospect of helping it regain League status.

"I've played Conference football before and know that it's a good standard, but we seem to have decent squad here and I'm sure we can give it go."

There was at least one familiar face to welcome Darran to training.

"I was an apprentice at Preston when Gavin Ward was there," he said. "So it was good to see him again and Sam Aiston is another who I've met before."

Darran has signed a two-year contract at the Racecourse.