PHIL Parkinson was attracted to new City winger Josh Morris by his “shoot-on-sight” policy.

Parkinson revealed that the positivity in his play was a big factor in bringing in the 23-year-old, who joined on a free transfer even though he had one more season on his Blackburn contract.

Morris, who has signed a three-year deal at Valley Parade, finished joint top-scorer last term in a goal-shy Fleetwood side with eight out of their League One tally of 49.

He also contributed four assists during his 43 starts.

Parkinson had been tracking Morris for a while and admitted his willingness to have a go in front of goal was a major plus.

The City boss said: “What I like about Josh is that he looks to get his shots away and threaten the opposition goal. He’s a very positive player.

“I watched him for a while playing in Blackburn’s under-21s and then last year at Fleetwood.

“He got stronger from having that period on loan and playing league football.

“Josh has been at Blackburn since he was a young kid. Now it’s probably the right time for him to cut his ties and forge his own career at another club.”

Morris was a team-mate of Billy Knott in the England under-20s set-up and joins City in a similar situation to when his fellow midfielder arrived last summer.

Parkinson added: “He is a similar age to Billy but more of a natural wide player, although he can play in other positions.

“It’s another good addition for us like Steve Davies. We had a good season last year but we want to maintain the progress and it’s important to add that freshness to the squad.”

Parkinson is pressing ahead with his chase for a centre half to replace Andrew Davies, who was due to meet up with his new club Ross County for the first time yesterday.

Meanwhile Millwall, having been rebuffed in their bid for James Hanson, are thought to have enquired about Jon Stead. Chesterfield and Barnsley are also understood to be keen on the striker after he failed to agree a deal to join City.