Sutton completes magnificent seven (From Bucks Free Press)

Sutton completes magnificent seven

10:58am Friday 29th June 2007

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WANDERERS have beaten bitter rivals Colchester and a clutch of other clubs to sign Scottish Premier League hot-shot John Sutton.

The striker, whose 13 goals kept St Mirren in the SPL last season, has signed a two-year deal at Adams Park.

He joins on a free transfer having turned down a new contract with the Saints. They were desperate to keep the 24-year-old who has been their top scorer for the last two seasons.

His career record of 47 goals in 106 league starts made him one of the hot properties of the summer.

Nine clubs including Championship side Colchester wanted him, but he pledged his future to Wanderers and becomes manager Paul Lambert's seventh summer signing.

Sutton, the brother of Aston Villa's former Celtic and Blackburn hitman Chris, said: "It feels great to be here. The aim is to win promotion and have a bit of success in the cups.

"I had interest from other clubs but I don't want to comment about them because I chose to come here because I think this is the best place for me.

"The manager was a big factor because of all he's achieved and the way he sold the club to me and when you look at the squad you can see it is very strong.

"There are a lot of good players here and when you look at the facilities you know the club should be higher than in League Two.

"Possibly I could have gone a couple of divisions higher or stayed in Scotland but I've come to somewhere where I think I will be most succesful over the next couple of years."

Lambert hailed his latest capture as the perfect targetman.

He told the club's official website: "He's had an excellent record in the SPL and I've always liked him. He'll get goals, I've no doubt about that, but he can also bring other players into the game. He's the perfect targetman."

Sutton started as a kid at Tottenham and had loan spells at Carlisle and Swindon. He then joined Millwall before moving north of the border with Raith, Dundee and St Mirren where he became a scoring star.

And he says critics who say scoring in Scotland is easier than it is in England don't know what they are talking about.

He said: "We were playing Celtic, who beat Man United last year, we were playing Rangers, who are a huge club, four times a year and Hearts, and Aberdeen. It's a tough league.

"I scored against Rangers and Celtic. I had a decent record in Scotland and last year I was playing in a struggling team.

But he insists there is more to him than goals.

He said: "I never set myself targets. If I can get a few assists and be a handful that's more than good enough for me.

But he says his first task is to get into the team.

"There are a lot of good strikers here and I would be naive if I thought I could come to a new club and walk straight into the team.

"Any good club needs three or four strikers."

Brother Chris won the English and Scottish League titles and John has been likened to him despite having to play in goal against him when they were growing up.

He said: "It worked out that I was in goal a bit."

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