LOCAL product Lee Paterson reckons home fires can help York City Knights shine brightly as he embarks on his first campaign at Huntington Stadium.

The 23-year-old, who lives and works as a personal trainer in the Minster city, became one of nine York-born-and-bred stars in the Knights camp when he signed from National League Two rivals Keighley in the closed season.

And he believes playing for one's home city provides an added incentive to succeed.

"It's nice to represent your own city," he told the Evening Press. "It's great when people at work say they came to watch the game, and to know your friends are there in the crowd is nice.

"It spurs you on to do that bit better. You want to impress your mates and play well for everyone."

The former New Earswick All Blacks junior has been at Huntington Stadium before, as a member of the old York Wasps Academy as a teenager, but this is his first stint with his home-city club as a fully fledged professional.

He added: "At Keighley I spent no time there apart from playing and training and you don't really see the people there, but this is different."

Paterson admitted it was a tough decision to leave the Cougars - with whom he won promotion to NL1 in 2003 before they endured an immediate return back down - but has no regrets about becoming a Knight.

"I'm really enjoying it," he said. "I had spoken to Steve Ferres (Knights chief executive) a year ago but all the lads at Keighley decided to stay together and have a go at Division One. We had spent a couple of years there working really hard.

"The travelling was quite difficult though, and at the end of the season I spoke to two or three other clubs and York seemed like the good option.

"My good mate Craig Farrell and Chris Langley were at York last season and both were very happy here and, while they've now joined Doncaster, they said is was a good option.

"There's a buzz around the town a bit and even though I was not at the club you could tell there were things going on.

"I also played with (Knights development officer) Jason Ramshaw at Keighley and he was very positive about it as well, and so far I'm sure I've made the right decision."

He added: "My personal aims now are to be in the starting line-up week in week out and be consistent, and improve my game as much as possible.

"You can't get better coaches than Mick Cook and Daryl Powell, and they're teaching me a lot of things that will do me well and make me a better player."

Updated: 10:48 Saturday, January 22, 2005