Manager Gary Megson has expressed his delight after the club secured the signings of Zat Knight from Aston Villa and Sam Ricketts from Hull City.

Both players joined up with their new team mates on the pre-season tour on Saturday morning.

The Manager said: "We are really pleased that we could complete the deals. Both players had other offers to consider.

"There was a huge amount of work done by the Chairman, with the support of Eddie Davies, to make these to happen.

"I am sure that they will fit in to the squad and we are going to make sure that we help them with their new challenge.

"Zat has plenty of Premier League experience and has played at the highest level with England, while Sam personally had a successful debut Premier League campaign with Hull."