New Accrington Stanley signing Liam Nolan hopes to have success with the club next season after joining from Southport.

The midfielder has joined the Reds for an undisclosed fee on a one-year contract with the option of a further year.

Nolan has been on Stanley’s radar for a while, with the transfer nearly going through back in January.

The 22-year-old has kept an eye on Accrington’s form ever since then, and he hopes his new club can replicate their efforts from recent months during the next league campaign.

“Accrington were interested in January but it never quite happened but thankfully it has now,” he told the club’s official website. “I have been monitoring them closely since their interest and they were in the bottom half of the table at that point.

“They have been on an unbelievable run since then and hopefully we can take this into next season.”

Nolan came through the youth ranks at Crewe Alexandra before going on to spend the last two seasons with Southport, and he’s excited to be back in the Football League.

“I can’t wait to play for Stanley. The aim has always been to get back into the Football League and I am made up to do it,” he said.

“I was at Crewe for four years, two years in their academy and two years as a pro and played 29 league games for them.

“I was released and have been at Southport for two seasons. They are a part-time club, training three days a week, and it was tough up against clubs who are full-time as we were relegated this season. It’s not nice to be relegated but I learnt a lot from it.”

It was a disappointing season for Nolan’s former club Southport, finishing second bottom in the National League.

As part of the deal, Stanley will travel to Southport for a pre-season match on July 29.

Nolan is expected to be the first of many new signings.