Hutchings said of his new man: "Paul has experience, is a very tenacious player, very hungry and that's the type of person we want here.
"I like his work ethic and he's the right type of character to bring into the club. There were others clubs interested - Sunderland were in for him at one stage, and Birmingham too.
"If all goes well, he will a real coup for us. It's a position I've been looking to strengthen. For the matches in Holland. we had to have Kevin Kilbane playing there.
"It's probably the one position where we don't have two players competing, so that needed addressing. Quality left-backs are few and far between.
"As a stop gap we could play Kilbane there, but obviously his main position is on the left-wing."
Meanwhile the club have received a £1.5 million offer from Sheffield United for midfielder Kevin Kilbane and Hutchings confirmed that the rumours surrounding the club and Mo Kallon are purely speculation.
And finally, Hutch revealed that the club are not going to wait too much longer on hte decision onf midfielder Michael Brown who is considering a £3 million switch from Fulham. He added: "We don't want it to linger on too long. The player has a decision to make and we hope that is sooner rather than later."
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EDITOR PAUL FARRINGTON IS TAKING PART IN THE BUPA GREAT NORTH RUN IN SEPTEMBER. TO SPONSOR HIM PLEASE CLICK HERE. AT THE MOMENT HE IS JUST £200 SHORT OF HIS TARGET.
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