Danny Cowley believes that Grant Smith will "make the most" of his opportunity with the Imps following his arrival at Sincil Bank today.
Smith arrives at the Bank having played every game in the last two seasons at Boreham Wood following his move from Bognor Regis in the Non-League.
The Imps boss believes that Smith's rise up the football pyramid shows that he deserves his opportunity in the EFL.
Cowley said: "He’s a player who first came onto the scene at Bognor Regis and had a really good season with them before moving to Boreham Wood.
"He has been an ever-present ever since and played a big part in the success that they had as a club last year in getting to the play-off final and finishing third in the National League."
Smith impressed at Hayes & Yeading after he departed Brighton & Hove Albion, whom he spent time with in their Under-21 setup.
The 24-year-old then joined Bognor Regis, and played a key part in the then Ryman League side reaching the FA Trophy semi-final, and joined Boreham Wood in the summer of 2016.
"You can see the determination in him, the language that he used when we first spoke and he is really determined to keep improving and testing himself. He’s a confident boy and backs his own ability and we see an awful lot of ability in him," Cowley added.
"He did fantastic last year as I said and he deserves this opportunity, players who come out of Non-League have to fight for the chance to get into the Football League, so it means an awful lot to them."
Josh Vickers is set to make his return from injury following a lay-out since January's defeat at Luton Town, and Cowley believes Smith is a signing that will challenge for the number one shirt.
"He’s going to make it a really good fight for the number one spot," he said.
"That’s what we want, we want competition in all places, that competition is so important. We encourage our players to see the people in competition as their best friend because it can be that which drives their standards and improves their performance."
You can see the full interview with Grant Smith HERE.
