CHRIS CALLS ON OLD PAL WARREN

TORQUAY boss Chris Hargreaves claims the signing of Jack Rudge could be the first of many from Manchester United.

Hargreaves knows Red Devils’ U21s boss Warren Joyce from their brief spell together at Hull City in the mid-90s.

And after securing 19year-old midfielder Rudge for a month, the Gulls manager is hopeful of developing a relationship with the Old Trafford giants.

“I’ve known Warren for many years, since we were both players,” said Hargreaves.

“I’d like to get a closer link with Manchester United tied up, and this signing could be the start. We are hoping to build bridges between the two clubs which, you never know, could lead to further signings in the future.

“When we moved for Jack last week, Lee Mansell (back) had just got injured and we weren’t sure that Joss Labadie would be able to turn his loan into a permanent deal, so we might have been a bit light in midfield.

“We didn’t know that Manse was going to get back fit quite so quick, or that Joss would sign, so Jack wasn’t really needed at Portsmouth on Saturday and there wasn’t a rush to get him down here.

“He’s with us now, and we’ll hopefully give him some firstteam football.”