Mark Cooper has insisted that Niall Canavan is exactly the kind of player he’s been looking for after The Bluebirds tied up a deal to bring the central defender in from Bradford City.
Canavan has been a regular at the heart of The Bantams defence this season after joining them last January from Plymouth Argyle where he had won promotion from League Two.
With over 300 senior games under his belt, the 6ft 4ins defender brings with him a wealth of EFL experience and Barrow boss Cooper is thrilled to have been able to entice him to the Club.
“I think it’s been pretty obvious that we need a dominant centre-back that wants to head the ball in both boxes and can play a little bit as well,” Cooper told us.
“One thing Niall can do is the head the ball, he’s got a vast amount of experience and he will push people about which is something which is difficult to find.
“He’s another winner, a leader – and we need more of those on the pitch and at the Club. Like John Rooney coming in, I think this guy can help us and come in and shake things up a bit.
“He’s one of those players who has always performed well against my teams over the years, so I am really pleased to get the deal done to bring him here.”
The Bluebirds have stumped up an undisclosed fee to bring the 30-year-old to The Dunes Hotel Stadium just 24 hours after clinching a deal to sign John Rooney from Stockport County.
Cooper reckons that the pair will help keep standards high on and off the pitch and bring some extra intensity to the training ground during the League Two run-in.
“What it does is add competition for places and the defenders will know they have to do their jobs.
“If you’re a defender then you’ve got to clear the ball, head the ball, stop it going in your goal and if you don’t do those things then you know that you’ll be coming out of the team.
“It gives us that extra layer of competition at the back that the signing of John Rooney does in the middle of the pitch so I am really pleased we’ve got it done.”