NOTTS County manager Craig Short is excited about the promise of new signing Krystian Pearce and insists the 20-year-old is a technically better defender than he was at the same age.

Defender Pearce, who has played in two European Championships and a World Cup as an England youth international, will today sign a one-year deal at Meadow Lane following a successful pre-season trial with the club.

Short, who played in the Premier League with Everton and Blackburn Rovers, is impressed with his ability on the ball and now wants him to embrace the basics of defending to become an even better player.

Short said: "I believe he can be an asset to this club. He's a gifted player and he's only 20, far from the finished article.

"I think defenders peak in their thirties. I did, and the best defenders I played with, like Richard Gough and Dave Watson, were still going strong in their mid-thirties.

"Krystian has got a lot of time on his side. Some of the things he does on the ball are great. He did a Cruyff-turn in the first game he played.

"There is a time and place for defenders to do things like that, if they can, but Krystian has got to focus on other parts of his game as well. I want my defenders to be defenders, first and foremost.

"I've sat and talked to him and he listens. I'm not trying to preach to him, I'm trying to help him and it's clear he wants to improve

"He makes mistakes but so did I when I was his age, and I had nowhere near what he has technically.

"Footballers are getting bigger, stronger and quicker and Krystian is big, strong and quick."