John Oster is happy to help the younger members of the Barnet squad in “any way he can” after the 33-year-old signed a one-year deal at Underhill.

The midfielder brings a wealth of experience having previously played in the Premier League and last season in the Championship with Doncaster Rovers.

The former Reading player stated he had previously turned down another club earlier in the summer before joining the Bees.

He made his Barnet debut as a 46th-minute substitute in the 3-1 loss against Gillingham at the weekend.

“I have been brought in to help with the young lads because we have such a young squad. So I can pass on advice perhaps as an on field coach so to speak,” Oster explained.

“If I can pass on my opinion and my experience to the young lads then I will help them any way I can.”

By his own admission, the former Reading player is not yet match fit but in his first outing for the Bees he impressed with his composure on the ball and willingness to receive a pass in tight areas.

While Oster admitted it was a poor result for Barnet, he stated he was happy to be back playing.

He said: “I’ve only had a couple of days training all summer and that was the first time I have actually participated in a game.

“So it was disappointing with the final result but personally it was good to get back out there playing.”

During his career, Oster has celebrated promotion but has also been in teams which have suffered relegation.

He is hopeful the Bees can improve their form and start to move away from the bottom of League Two table.

“We are trying to go upwards because at the minute things are not looking good,” he admitted. “We need to try and get some results and points on the board as soon as possible.

“I have tasted both sides of the coin really in terms of promotion and relegation. Hopefully we can pull away from the relegation zone and start to move up the table.”

He continued: “We have a lot of new players and a new manager. It is not always easy to get your ideas across and they didn’t have the easiest pre-season because of the Olympics.

“It is hard in this league. A lot of the teams are well organised and well drilled. Other than that I didn’t think there was anything in the game.

“Gillingham knew exactly what each other was doing and were on the same page, so that was probably what they had over us.”

Despite not playing over the summer, Oster believes his general fitness is fine and commented that he wants to continuing play for as long as possible.

“I think I’ve played about 150 games in the last four years and that is with a couple of operations as well,” the midfielder said.

“So all in all I’ve played a lot of games for somebody who is my age.”

He added: “I’ve had no thoughts of retiring at the minute. As long as I am fit, and I am yet not match fit, I will want to continue playing.”