NEW Harriers signing Jonny Harkness is set to fit straight in at left-back for tomorrow's Conference visit of Scarborough (3pm).

The former Walsall man will be a direct replacement for Wayne Hatswell who left Aggborough yesterday to join Rushden and Diamonds.

Hatswell, 30, who had 18 months left to run on his contract and was one of the club's highest earners, signed on at Nene Park for an undisclosed fee.

Boss Mark Yates said: "Wayne has been a great servant to Kidderminster Harriers. He was on a decent wage and we received a good offer for a left-back/centre-back playing in the Conference and we decided to take it."

Rushden boss Barry Hunter was delighted with his capture of the former Chester and Oxford United man, who has signed a contract until the end of the season with an option to extend it for a further year.

Hunter said: "Wayne has proven and extensive experience at this level.

"He is a tenacious defender and I am sure that he will soon become an invaluable part of our league campaign."

Former Northern Ireland youth international Harkness joined Harriers earlier this week after coming to an agreement with Walsall to terminate his contract.

He impressed Yates during a 2-2 draw in a behind-closed-doors friendly with Hereford United on Monday.

Yates added: "Jonny looked like a good player in the friendly and he will slot in at left-back.

"At the moment the defence is not where I am looking to strengthen. There are a lot of discussions going on at the moment and I am hopeful of being able to tie up a couple of deals by the middle of next week."

One player who seems to be staying at Harriers for now is Iyseden Christie, who was the subject of an undisclosed bid from Coca-Cola League Two side Rochdale this week.

Yates refused to say how much 'Dale offered, but recently Lincoln boss Keith Alexander revealed Harriers were asking for £50,000 for their 13-goal top-scorer.

The Kidderminster manager is warning his players not to be complacent going into the Scarborough game on the back of their 4-0 victory over the Seadogs in the FA Trophy last month.

"Obviously, I would love a repeat of that scoreline, but Scarborough have certainly improved as a team since then. Neil Redfearn has made a few additions to the squad and they look like a much stronger outfit now."

Harriers' only current injury victim is veteran midfielder Martin O'Connor, who, according to Yates, is "a couple of months away from even training" following surgery on a knee problem.

Centre-half Daryl Burgess returns from a one-game ban but may be kept out by the central-defensive partnership of skipper Mark Jackson and Johnny Mullins. They impressed despite Grays' 1-0 FA Trophy win at Aggborough last weekend.