Shrewsbury land Griffith

Shrewsbury have announced the signing of midfielder Anthony Griffith on a one-year contract.

The midfielder was a free agent after he was released by Port Vale, who he played 45 times for last season. The 27-year-old has over 300 professional career appearances under his belt for the likes of Vale (in three different spells), Doncaster and Leyton Orient. "This is probably one of the biggest clubs in the league for me," Griffith told Shrewsbury's official website, after penning a deal with the club. "I feel blessed to still be given the opportunity to play football. I've got a big challenge ahead of me but I'm looking forward to it. "My target is to play, get promoted and see where we are next year."The signing comes less than 24 hours after Shrews pulled off a surprise 1-0 win over Leicester in the Capital One Cup, thanks to a goal from Andy Mangan. Griffith is another new face added to Micky Mellon's squad in the summer transfer window, with over 15 players arriving at Greenhous Meadow as they look for an instant return to Sky Bet League One. Although without a club, former employers Port Vale allowed Griffith to train with them in pre-season as he recovered from a hip operation and, now running, he just needs to regain his match fitness before making his debut for his new club. He added: "At the end of the season, I knew I needed an operation. "I'm just glad to be back on my feet really, and I'm thriving at the chance to get going again. I've got a lot of paying back to do to Micky Mellon and Mike Jackson (Mellon's assistant) as well, because they've shown a lot of faith in me. "I've been doing a lot of training behind the scenes. I've been at Port Vale and done a lot of fitness work to get me back to where I need to be. "It's very difficult when you've not had a full pre-season, and this is my first year without a full pre-season. "To show my full potential I need to be the fittest I can. I'm a qualified fitness instructor so I'm okay to manage my weight. "Nothing can compare to match fitness, that's the most important thing." Breaking news, transfer gossip, line ups and goal alerts from your football club - delivered direct to your mobile. Sign up for Sky Sports Alerts