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Pope looks to bright future with Millers
RECORD signing Tom Pope says he is relishing a new challenge at Rotherham United and wants to fire them to promotion.
The 23-year-old striker has swapped being on the fringe at Crewe for a starting place with the Millers and he feels that he can build his career with them under Mark Robins.
"The manager really sold the club to me and after what he told me and hearing of the plans for the club, then I know the move was the right one for me," said Pope.
"Everybody seems optimistic about the future, there's talk of a new ground and I want to be involved and a part of it.
"Hopefully, I can get in the team, get among the goals and help them get promoted.
"Certainly it is a challenge I am looking forward to because the club is aiming to be up there next season."
Pope joined Crewe four years ago from local non-league club Biddulph Victoria and, in all, scored 17 goals in 32 starts and 24 sub appearances including being top scorer this season with 10 goals.
"It's not that I wanted to leave Crewe but I felt I needed regular league football and perhaps the time had come to go and to head for a new challenge," he added.
"Crewe gave me my chance and I'll be grateful for that and there were people there, Steve Holland, Dario Gradi, Gudjon Thordarson and Neil Baker, a person with whom I had my happiest times, who got me where I am.
"But I just felt I needed more games than I was getting and now it is up to me to justify the move and the fee."
The fee of 150,000 is structured with the full deal amounting to that figure should all the add ons and agreements come to fruition.
Rotherham have made an initial up front payment and although they declined to say what it is, it is likely to be between half of it and 100,000. It is understand they had a first bid turned down.
It equals the club record for an individual player matching similar deals for Tony Towner (1980), Lee Glover (1996) Alan Lee (2000) and Martin Butler (2003).
However, the record fee remains the 180,000 paid in 1980 to Millwall for Towner and John Seasman in the same deal with Seasman being listed as the "makeweight" and tagged at 30,000.
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