Sutton United boss Paul Doswell has admitted that the hurt of losing out in the play-offs two seasons ago is one of the reasons he signed Nicky Bailey.

The former Middlesbrough, Charlton Athletic and Millwall man signed forms at Gander Green Lane earlier this week, and he will remain a United player until the end of the season.

Doswell had been able to assess Bailey’s fitness and desire for two weeks after the midfielder had been given permission by Barnet to run out his contract (which expired on January 23) training with United.

At the end of that spell, Doswell was in no doubts that the 31-year-old could play a large part in this season’s National League South promotion campaign.

He said: “It was a no-brainer really. Nicky was recommended to us by Jamie Lawrence - who also recommended Craig Eastmond, and he’s been one of the most inspired signings of the season so far.

“Jamie rang me up and told that Nicky just wants to play football, and that he would be a massive addition to our squad – Jamie’s opinion is one that I trust 100 per cent when it comes to players’ fitness.

“But I needed to see Nicky and having him with us for two weeks was the perfect scenario, it’s not often you get to watch someone for two weeks before signing them.

“And having seen him in training, watching him play in the Palace friendly and watching him in general, I knew Jamie was absolutely right.”

Doswell was also running the rule over Bailey’s chances of fitting in with the squad as maintaining the balance of a winning side was key to making any changes.

“You sometimes look at more than the player. I watched him very closely in the group, because that is the most important thing – would he fit into the work ethic and would he fit into the group, and the answer to that is yes,” Doswell said.

“I watched a David Attenborough documentary about a wolf-pack recently – in the pack there is no leader, they all lead, and that is what we try to get into the players.

“We’re not individuals, no-one is bigger than the team, and I had to make sure that Nicky would fit into that.”

Doswell is not ruling out more additions to the squad in the coming weeks and months, adding: “I am scarred from the play-offs two years ago.

“We went to Dover with three reserve players playing because of injuries, players who had barely played all season.

“Everyone knows what happened and the disappointment of those play-offs, so I will not let that happen again.”