Senior follows Rod's example

2:50pm Friday 10th August 2007

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CHRIS Senior is keen to follow in the footsteps of fellow Alty striker Rod Thornley after completing a permanent move to the club this summer.

Not only does Senior hope to bang the goals in for the Robins, like Thornley he is also aiming to become a professional masseur.

The 25-year-old striker decided to pursue a new career path after ending four years as a professional footballer to sign part-time at Moss Lane, where he spent five months on loan last season.

And far from rueing the end of his full-time football career, Senior is excited about to take on a new challenge.

He told SAM Sport: "Last year when I was here on loan, because I was still classed as full-time being on loan from Halifax I found myself quite bored during the day.

"Now I've got my head together and, after speaking to Rod, I decided to enrol on a masseur's course at college.

"So the part-time thing suits me fine now.

"When I spoke to Graham a few times over the summer, everything he's had to say has been positive and even if they'd been in Blue Square North it would have been in my mind to re-sign for the club if there'd been an offer there.

"But obviously, being in the Premier is a massive bonus. The club's run properly, the type of football Graham wants us to play is attractive - whether we can do that or not is another thing.

"I'm really pleased to be coming back to the club."

After joining Alty on loan from Halifax during last season's January transfer window, Senior made an immediate impact at the club.

His pace and intelligent running made him a real handful for opposition defences and he was a key factor in the Robins' March revival that saw them climb from 21st to 13th at one point.

Although he was signed as a striker, Senior was often deployed on the wing to utilise his blistering pace.

But whether used out wide or through the middle, it doesn't matter to the Yorkshireman as long as Alty are still in the Blue Square Premier come the end of the season.

He said: "It doesn't matter to me where I play. If you're in the starting XI you're going to be happy.

"I'd much rather play up front but if I'm picked to play on the left or the right I can't have any qualms about that because I'll have a shirt on my back.

"There's no reason why we can't finish in midtable because of the quality signings Heathcote has brought in.

"Last year I thought the club was unfortunate to get relegated because we had a good run throughout March but then blew it in April.

"Once you get on a losing streak it's hard because you get down in the dumps. So we need to get off to a good start and take it from there."