Having never lived further south than Leeds, Wanderers’ new signing Garry Thompson is relishing the prospect of a “fresh start” both personally and professionally.

Born in Kendal, Cumbria, the 34-year-old came through the ranks at Morecambe, with whom he stayed until 2008, before moving on to Scunthorpe, Bradford and Notts County.

The latter told him talks over a new contract would be forthcoming after a season in which his 12 goals made him the Magpies’ top scorer, but when no offer came his way Thompson didn’t have to wait long before Gareth Ainsworth was in touch trying to persuade him to make the move to Buckinghamshire.

The forward said: “I spoke to him just after the play-off final defeat [against Southend] and I was thoroughly taken in by his enthusiasm to go on and achieve even more things this season – that was literally not even 48 hours after the defeat.

“I know he was disappointed, as everyone with Wycombe would have been, but he told me that he felt I could add something different that might get Wycombe promoted next season.

“When somebody is telling you these things down the phone it gets you excited and it gets you on board straight away. As soon as I’d had that conversation I knew that it was the place I was going to go to.”

Thompson’s signing was announced just under three weeks ago and the player says he would have put pen-to-paper sooner had he not been studying for his UEFA B coaching licence at St George’s Park in June.

A “couple of offers” from other clubs were on the table, according to the striker, but he instead opted for the “challenge” of a move down south, committing to the club until 2017.  

“I’ve lived up north all my life, I’ve not lived any further south than the Leeds area, so it’s something I’m looking forward to,” said Thompson.

“It will be a whole new thing for me – moving down to Wycombe – but something that me and my wife are looking forward to.

“Since we signed it’s been non-stop looking for areas and places to move down to, so it’s a brand new, exciting thing for both of us. We’re both from up north so it’s a brand new challenge.

“It’s a fresh start with a group of players that want to succeed and a hungry manager. Having sat down with him (Ainsworth) and the chairman, it’s all geared up to have a really good season this year and it’s something which I’m glad to be a part of.”

When he joined his new teammates for the first day of pre-season training on Thursday, Thompson will have no doubt enjoyed a warm embrace with good friend and Wycombe captain Paul Hayes – an “intelligent” player who knows his game “inside out”.

The pair spent two seasons playing alongside each other at Scunthorpe, helping the club gain promotion to the Championship via the play-offs in 2009, and he revealed that the Blues skipper played a part in his decision to come to Adams Park.

“I was friends with Paul anyway, we’ve been friends for quite a long time from our Scunthorpe days, so I came down two or three weeks before I signed and he explained that the manager was interested.

“I spoke to the manager myself and when he explained to me what the manager was like and what the lads were like and what they wanted to achieve it was a no brainer for me.

“I listened to Paul and took some advice off of him, but once I realised there was interest I knew that it was somewhere I wanted to come.”

While living in High Wycombe may be unchartered territory for Thompson, playing in League Two, where a couple of his former employers lie in wait, should present fewer problems for a man who has made 604 career appearances.

The majority – 325 – of those came during a nine-year spell for Morecambe, and a trip to the Globe Arena on August 18 will provide Thompson with a chance to head back up north to where it all began as he embarks on the latest chapter of his career with Wanderers.

He said: “You always have a little look to see where your old clubs are and I’ve been back to Morecambe once before with Bradford, but I was actually unavailable for the game so it was a bit disappointing.

“I’ve got a lot of friends, a lot family that live in Kendal, so it will be like a home game for me. They’ll all be coming to the game and I think I’ve got to get about 25 tickets for that game.

“With Morecambe, a lot of lads have moved on from there and there’s hardly anyone that I was there with apart from Jim Bentley the manager and Stewart Drummond, who works in the academy now. I think that player-wise a lot of lads have moved on since I was there.

“With Notts County, they’ve retained quite a lot of the lads so it will be a good game, but obviously one which I’ll be looking to win with Wycombe.”