Lowestoft Town have signed Danny Crow on an 18-month contract following his release by Newport County.

The former Norwich City academy product goes straight into the squad for tomorrow afternoon's Conference North clash at home to Hyde.

Joint boss Ady Gallagher believes the signing is a coup for the Blues with the 28-year-old rejecting offers from several higher profile clubs to move back to the area.

'We are obviously delighted to pull this deal off,' said Gallagher. 'He had offers from other clubs for a lot more money but has made a conscious decision to move nearer to his roots.

'We couldn't afford to pay him what other teams were offering and Danny knew that. What has been massively encouraging is the fact that he has expressed a desire to get involved with the coaching of the whole club.

'He wants to give something back to the local area.'

Lowestoft have often lacked a cutting edge in front of goal in their maiden Conference North campaign but Gallagher believes acquisition of the former Luton man helps continue the progress already made so far.

'He's in the prime of his career still and we are talking about a player with a lot of quality – the type of quality he has got is not easy to find. Our forward players have worked their socks off every week and I'm really pleased with Jake Reed, Shaun Bammant and Bradley Woods-Garness. But they need more support up there and the only way to do that with Jefferson (Louis) leaving is to bring more quality into the team.

'It has been a baptism of fire in many ways for us so far but what we must always try to do is improve. The fact that Danny is prepared to buy into the ambitions of the club is great as he is young enough to play a big part in our development.'

Lowestoft will be hoping to capitalise on the feelgood factor of Crow's arrival when Hyde come to the Meadow tomorrow.

The Trawlerboys' 5-1 reversal at Hyde was one of the season's low points but Gallagher is backing his side to build on their recent home form, which has seen them go undefeated since the end of November.

'Hyde was one of our poorest performances and it was a sobering experience for us,' he said. 'We know we need to produce better than that and we have shown since then that we are capable of it.'

Lee Smith is back in contention following a back injury and could start from the bench although Chris Henderson remains sidelined with a groin problem. Dan Gleeson is expected to return although Gallagher revealed the Blues are expecting to be without Adam Smith for several weeks with a hamstring problem.