NEW Kidderminster signing Paul Smith says he has put his injury nightmare behind him and is hoping to play a big part in moving Harriers forward.

Smith, who played for Burnley, Hartlepool and Sheffield Wednesday during his career, retired from professional football last year on medical advice after suffering a serious knee injury while playing for the Owls.

However, the 30-year-old midfielder-defender, who signed on at Aggborough until the end of the season on Tuesday evening, believes his knee is in good shape again and is confident he can be a success at Conference level.

Smith plans to draw upon his wealth of Football League experience to help Harriers turn around their disappointing season.

He said: "I'm glad to be at Aggborough and I'm looking forward to being able to do a job for Kidderminster.

"I've got a great deal of experience from my time at Burnley and Hartlepool and hopefully I can use some of that to guide us further up the Conference table. I've had a lot of offers to go and play for Football League clubs, but obviously my injury means that I've had to turn them down as the Conference is as high as I can go because of my injury.

"But I've been working hard on my fitness and I've built my knee back up and now it's looking good.

"The chance to come and play for Neil and Mark was too good an opportunity to turn down," added Smith.

"Kidderminster has always been a tough place to come to and hopefully we can keep it that way."