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Barnet captain Neal Bishop has become Notts County's second experienced midfield recruit of the week.

Having already agreed a deal with Darlington's Ricky Ravenhill, County boss Ian McParland has now had confirmation from Bishop that he will be travelling to Meadow Lane to sign for two years before the end of the week.

Said McParland: "It has been an excellent couple of days and the message is that despite all the disappointments of last season, good players still want to come and join us.

"I couldn't be more pleased. One of the priorities this summer was to get more 'leaders' on board and we've already added two more in Ravenhill and Bishop."

The Stockton born 27-year-old learned his trade with non-league Whitby, Scarborough and York and gained England C recognition before linking up with Barnet two years ago.

Bishop figured in 90 League and Cup games over the past two seasons, and was an influential figure as Barnet's fine run of form carried them to League Two safety in the closing weeks of the campaign.

Said McParland: "Dave Kevan and I trailed him for much of the season and we think he has a real presence about him. We're sure he can make a big contribution and believe he will blend well with Ricky Ravenhill.

"He's a six-footer who wins headers in both boxes, is a good tackler and makes 'easy' passes. If we need him to go forward he can, and is just as adept in the holding role."

McParland is delighted to have secured two of his top targets at such an early stage of the summer but insists plenty more pieces of the jigsaw still need to be fitted in. And that is likely to include the signing of yet more midfielders.

He explained: "The top priority now is to find the players who will get goals for us on a regular basis next season and once we have done that, we will see what money we have left in the budget.

"Things are taking shape nicely but ideally I would like a couple more midfielders. It could be that they will be promising youngsters on long-term loans … but we will see what develops."

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