"I've been trying to sign him for the last five years and I've approached him every summer. It was close to happening last year but we couldn't make it work.

"This year, he was our number one target, especially in that midfield area. I'm absolutely over the moon to get him here.

"His family are fantastic as well - his Dad is a big supporter and it will be great to welcome them next season.

"For me, Ethan is currently one of the best young midfielders in the North East. I'm delighted that we've managed to sign him.

"We'll have Ethan, Arron Thompson, Liam Noble, Liam Murray, Joe Posthill, Olly Martin and a few others who can play in midfield for us. We've got plenty of options and a good balance of different attributes.

"We want three out-and-out midfielders and Ethan strengthens us in that area of the pitch."

After Wood was announced on Wednesday, experienced striker Martin became Hebburn's second signing just 24 hours later.

The forward joins the Hornets after a short spell with Bishop Auckland, having previously played professionally across Europe.

"I'm really pleased to bring Gary in," stated Moore.

"It happened very quick. When I knew he became available, I was eager to get him onboard.

"I rang him on the Friday morning, he was sat in my house on the afternoon, and he came to the presentation on the evening.

"He's a 34-year-old professional. He's played full-time football all of his career and he still takes it very seriously. It's good to have that character around the place.

"He's a slightly different player to Amar Purewal. He plays with his back to goal and can play on one or two touch.

"He's played in Hungary, Norway, Belgium and Iceland. That experience can only be good for the team and individuals around him."

Moore's final addition saw Jack Foalle move to South Tyneside after a lengthy spell with Morpeth Town.

The versatile attacker has spent a number of seasons at step three, and Moore is delighted to add further experience to his side.

"Jack's a great addition to our team," he said.

"He brings a lot of experience and attributes that we've been looking for. He's spent a number of years at this level and whenever we've played against him, he's caused us problems.

"The biggest thing about Jack, and it's the same for the other two additions, they're all good people. That's really important when building a dressing room - you want those characters around the place.

"Jack brings a lot of things that we've been lacking since I joined the club. He can play anywhere across the front line, he had 30 goal involvements last season, and he's got great experience.

"It was another signing that came about very quickly. When I meet players to discuss Hebburn and the long-term plans of the club, it makes it a really attractive proposition.

"Players want to come to this football club and we have to select the right ones. I think we've made three fantastic additions."

The three new signings take Hebburn to 14 senior players ahead of the new campaign.

With pre-season just over a month away from commencing, Moore is satisfied with the current look of his squad.

"I'm pleased with the make up of the squad," he explained.

"Defensively, we're strong. We've got four or five of the best defenders in the league and I think they'll be even better next season.

"Our aim was to change up our attacking threat - we wanted to add something different.

"Amar Purewal was a big player for us. We've thought about it over the last year and we've been identifying targets. We knew the time would come where he would move on or take his career into another direction.

"We've freshened things up and brought a variety of attributes in. Gary is an out-and-out number nine, which is what we needed, but every other attacker at the club can play in a number of positions.

"We want to get after teams and cause some chaos - by having those players and that unpredictability, it'll be hard for teams to plan against us.

"I'm happy with how things stand. If the season started tomorrow, we'd be in a strong place.

"We've got a few young lads joining us in pre-season so we'll take a look at those and see if they can add anything to our squad.

"I'm excited for pre-season to start. I'm eager to get these new signings onto the pitch and integrate them into the squad."