FRENCH import Moussa Diarra has arrived at Barrow AFC with only one aim in mind – to win.

The towering Parisian centre-back arrived at the start of the close-season from new National League South side Hampton and Richmond Borough, having helped them to the Ryman Premier title.

Diarra comes with a goal-scoring reputation – having bagged 14 times for the Beavers last year to break a goal record – and at 6ft 5ins, can be a presence at both ends of the field.

While the 26-year-old may still be raw in some areas of the game – the AFC coaching staff are working with him to develop his skillset – he is positive in his ambitions with the Bluebirds.

Quietly spoken for such a big man, he does not hold back with his desires while at Holker Street, as he says: “I want to win the league. I only play to win, I don’t play to just be in the play-offs or anything else. The only thing I play for is to win.”

With such ambitions in mind, Diarra chose to join Barrow after hearing of a club with similar desires for success.

He knows it will be tough, but the former St Albans City man said: “I heard a lot of things about the ambitions and the project at the club and especially of the manager. I know he won the league with Mansfield and he was a centre-back as well, like me. He wants to help players improve, so that’s why I came to Barrow. It has definitely met my expectations.

“The level will be good. It’s where you want to be – you want to play against really good players to see how far you have come and how much you have improved. That can help you to up your game.”

Diarra has spent the past few weeks getting used to life in a full-time environment, having gone from training on two evenings a week – once if there was a midweek fixture – to sessions every day in the build-up to the National League campaign.

He can already see his game developing, and in his melodious perfect English said: “I’ve found it very good. The training sessions are good – it’s completely different to how it was at Hampton. When you are part-time, you train on a Tuesday and a Thursday, but sometimes you have a game on a Tuesday, so you have only one training session in the week.

“I want to improve myself and develop myself as a player and I couldn’t see the progression. To be able to train every day, it gives you a lot of time to improve yourself and work on your weaknesses and what you do well.

“It is really intense compared to where I was before. There is a lot of running and a lot of fitness work and you can really see the difference of the play when you are with players who are full-time compared to those who are part-time. You can see the difference in the fitness.

“My game has already improved – especially in terms of fitness. It is only a few weeks and I will keep working hard to keep improving.”