DAVE Leworthy has hailed the capture of former Premiership striker Dean Holdsworth as the biggest coup in Havant & Waterlooville's history.

The Conference South new boys sent shockwaves around the non-League scene yesterday by signing the 35-year-old former Wimbledon, Bolton and Coventry City striker on a two-year contract along with Aldershot Town's long-serving left-back Jason Chewins.

Holdsworth was pointed in the direction of Westleigh Park by Hawks' newest director and former Saints striker Ian Baird, who recently played alongside him in a masters tournament in Hong Kong.

Leworthy said: "I was talking to Ian about the players I was after and Dean Holdworth's was a name he threw at me as someone looking for a club.

"It's a great signing. It will raise our profile massively and shows how ambitious the club is.

"We've had some high calibre players at Havant & Waterlooville like Liam Diash, Gareth Hall and Paul Wood, but I think Dean's the biggest signing so far.

"He's still got a lot of professionalism about him and that's what I'm working towards for when we step up into the Conference."

A former Watford trainee, Walthamstow-born Holdsworth joined Wimbledon from Brentford for £720,000 in 1992, scoring 76 goals in 217 games in a prolific five-year spell with the Crazy Gang.

His value had catapulted to £3.5m by the time he moved Bolton Wanderers in October 1997.

He scored a further 49 goals in 118 appearances for Sam Allardyce's men and then briefly joined Coventry City and Rushden & Diamonds before returning to Wimbledon last summer.

As a spin-off from his football career he serves as vice-chairman of the PFA (Professional Footballers' Association) and is a pundit on Sky Sports.

Hawks secretary Trevor Brock said: "We've got Dean on reasonable terms and if that doesn't get a few punters through the gate next season, I don't know what will! It was only a year or so ago he was earning Premiership wages with Bolton.

"We wanted a big name to boost the profile of the club and it's harder to think realistically of anyone much bigger. Everyone here has been impressed with his attitude and we're looking forward to what will be his debut when we play Portsmouth in a friendly next month (July 21)."